Falling Star
by Twily
Summary: Please Review. Almost 6 years after the confrontation with the Volturi the Cullens have returned to a state of normalcy. Jake and Nessie are engaged and all is well with the world. Until Alice sees what they all fear. The Volturi. It seems like everyone is putting hope on this one young girl. Scarlet, a vampire of myth and mystery. But even she says her power may not be enough. R
1. Preface

Falling Star

A Fan Made Twilight Saga Sequel to Breaking Dawn

_I do not own any of the characters from Stephanie Meyer's _

_Twilight Saga, or their stories._

_ Hope is the last thing that dies in a man; and though it be exceedingly deceitful, yet it is of this good use to us, that while we are traveling through life it conducts us in an easier and more pleasant way to our journey's end._

~Francois de Rochefoucauld

**Preface**

When I thought of what was coming for us, all I could bear to imagine was the familiar line of black gliding closer to the ones I loved. We had had a chance of survival long ago, but now, death was inevitable. My years of peace had come to an end. They were coming for us.

I could not bring myself to believe that we would find her, or that she alone would be able to stop the unstoppable force coming to destroy us even if we did manage to find her, but she was the only glimmer of light that we had in our dark despair.

I only knew my fate. I would follow Edward wherever he went, even into the deepest dark of death. I would send Renesmee far away with Jacob. I refused to put full hope in the slimmest of chances, even if everyone else did. I would not risk my family that way.

Our chances were slim, and our hope was minimal, but this one hope, one person, might be enough to save us all, and bring our long journey to a peaceful end.


	2. Perfect

**Perfect**

I sat at my desk with one hand balled in a fist on my cheek, supporting my head. Mr. Sanchez's lecture on the Mexican American war was distant. I knew all this already. I could probably teach _him_ a thing or two about it. My husband Edward had tutored me on everything humanly and inhumanly possible for the last five years. Instead I kept glancing at the clock, even though I knew exactly what time it was.

I tried to occupy myself by watching the birds fly between the trees in the woods on the other side of the parking lot, but my brain still had plenty of room to worry. I sighed impatiently. I had all the time in the world, but it didn't help these days.

My friend Jacob glanced at me and quickly wrote me a note on one of the pages from his notebook. He made sure Mr. Sanchez was not looking before handing me the scrap.

Are you OK? You seem stressed.

I did not have to see if the teacher or anyone else was looking. I took the piece of paper and started writing below Jacob's note. In the back of my head, I noted how much my penmanship had improved since I was a human. Still, everything looked better against Jake's scrawl.

Just worrying about Nessie. It's her only class alone.

I knew no one would see me write, or pass the note to Jake. That was one of the smaller advantages of being a vampire; superhuman speed. The only evidence I left behind was a slight breeze as my arm flew between our desks.

Since Jake was a werewolf he was in on the secret. He was also part of my family now that he and Renesmee were engaged. My husband Edward had wanted him to wait till she was at least six, but we gave them our blessing. With her being a vampire hybrid, I thought they should get married before she stopped growing, though I still cringed at the thought of my little girl leaving me. She would always be close but she would not be in arms reach. She would be in La Push with Jake.

The Cullen family had grown considerably since we had lived in the small town of Forks, Washington. That town seemed to be the most dangerous town for humans to live in, despite its low population and lack of anything to do. But, for the people who knew about the mythical happenings in the small town, it was a scary place to live. The most dangerous places in the entire town had to be the werewolf covered Quileute reservation, or the vampire infested Forks High School. It would mostly depend on your preference of monster.

When I was a human I had been in on the secret world of mythical creatures, and I had paid with my life. I did not mind becoming a vampire. It was what I had wanted since the beginning, but for anyone else, it was that or death according to the rulers of the vampire world, the Volturi. I still shuddered at the name.

To keep my parents from meeting the same fate, we clued them both in on my being a vampire without actually telling them. They knew there was a mythical world now that Jake had phased for them, but all they knew about the rest of us was that we were different. Jake had shown my dad, Charlie a few days after I was transformed. He was lucky that I had super self control for a newborn vampire. Any other newborn would have drank his blood on the spot. Charlie was too freaked out to ask for the details. He only wanted the strictly need-to-know information.

My mom was harder. When Jake had phased for Renée a few years later, instead of freaking out like we had expected, she was fascinated. She wanted to know everything. We managed to keep her on the same need-to-know basis as Charlie. It was the perfect way to keep my family without endangering them. The only one who did not know about it at all was my mom's new husband Phil. He did not really need to know, so we saw no point in telling him.

My dad had married Sue Clearwater about three years ago. She had known about the mythical world of werewolves and vampires long before Charlie and Renée had. She had made it easier for Charlie to be around us. They were both in the same boat. They both had kids that had turned into strange creatures without warning.

These thoughts moved to the back of my head as Jake passed the note back.

Don't worry. It is her last class of the day. She will be fine. What are you worried about anyway? What could happen?

There was plenty to worry about; what if someone noticed her rapid growing, or her high temperature, or worst of all, her gift. If she touched someone by accident they could see her thoughts, and that would be bad for all of us. We would have to move far away, and this was the perfect school.

Port Angeles High School was still close enough to the Cullen's house that we would not have to move, but far enough away that the people would hopefully not recognize us. Most importantly, it was near Charlie. We knew it was risky, but I had promised him that I would stay for as long as I could.

Carlisle worked part time in Seattle now to help us stay undercover. It was a long drive even speeding the way we all did, but the hospital in Port Angeles would have recognized him by his accomplishments.

Esme decided to try to get Sam's pack to let her restore an old log cabin on the reservation. That was not an easy task. If it wasn't for Jake's persuasion and the upcoming wedding (ug) it never would have been aloud.

Instead of bothering Jake with all my worries, I just wrote:

You're right.

I handed the note back to Jake, and concentrated on counting the syllables in each of Mr. Sanchez's sentences.

Mr. Sanchez dismissed the class about two minutes early, and Jake and I walked to the parking lot together. Rose, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice were waiting near Edward's Volvo and Rose's BWM. Because of our size it was necessary to have both the Volvo and the Convertible with us.

"Where is Edward?" I asked Alice when we got to the cars.

"Coach Brenner is making everyone run extra laps for National P.E Day."Alice said in her normal cheerful voice. "He will pick up Renesmee afterwards. Her class is being held late too. Mr. Zienburg is going overboard on his advanced genetics lecture. They should be here in a couple minutes."

Emmett saw me sigh. "Impatient, are we?" he laughed.

"I don't need to be able to see the future to know she will be ok." Alice comforted me.

"Relax." Jasper told me, and I did.

Rose, Alice, Emmett, and Jake laughed at my suddenly calm expression. Jasper's talent was probably the only one that got on my nerves. Sure it was a helpful talent to have around. When it was not being used on you.

"Seriously Bella," Rose said. "She will be fine. Just think of something else. Renée and Charlie are visiting this afternoon, remember? They wanted to congratulate Jake and Nessie on their engagement. "

I always loved it when Renée came over to visit Renesmee. I had felt bad at first that Renée had missed Nessie's "toddler years", but they had fun together anyway. They loved taking walks in the woods together at sunset, and they loved to watch the bats silhouetted against the sky at twilight.

By the time Alice spoke up I had forgotten about my worries.

"Here they are."

I looked up to see the two halves that made up my existence walking toward me. Edward, my archangel of a husband, and Renesmee, my beautiful daughter. Their matching bronze hair, being blown by the wind as they walked slowly towards us.

When they reached us I gave Edward a quick kiss with superhuman speed. I did not want to get caught kissing Edward, even though it went with our new story. Carlisle had taken in Rose and Jasper when his widowed sister died. Esme had taken Emmett, Alice, and me in when her brother and his wife died in a car crash, and had later taken in Edward and Renesmee when her friend died. Jacob was their foster kid.

"Hey Mom." Renesmee greeted me.

"Hey Nessie." I said as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Let's get out of here." Jake said enthusiastically. The others muttered in agreement, and got into the convertible. Edward, Renesmee, Jake, and I got in the Volvo. We never buckled up in the cars. We did not see the point. We couldn't get into a car crash, and if we did, the only thing getting hurt would be the car.

Edward let Rose out first, and followed her on the road home. We had to follow the speed limit in town, but once we were outside the limits we would be home in no time.

"When is Grandma Renée coming over?" Renesmee asked me as she leaned over my seat from the back of the car.

I turned around to look at her. "Alice said she would be over at four." I answered. "She also said that she is bringing you something special."

Renesmee's eyes lit up like a child. Even with her adult mind, she had the curiosity and creativity of a child. She pleaded with her eyes for me to tell her.

I put my hand up to my mouth and made a motion like I was locking my lips with a key, and she slumped back in her seat with disappointment. Jacob chuckled, and took her hand. Edward smiled at Renesmee as she rolled her eyes at Jacob.

Most of the ride home was quiet. Renesmee rested her head on Jacob's shoulder and dozed off about half way home. We listened to the CD that Edward had given me for my horrid 18th birthday. It was one of the few things from my birthday that I liked, or cared to remember.

She woke up when we started on the three mile drive to the house. When her eyes blinked open, Jake smiled at her and nudged her with his elbow.

"Have a hard day at school or something?" he teased. "You were out cold."

She sighed and stretched her arms before answering.

"No." she yawned. "I've just been having some strange dreams lately."

"Like what?" Edward asked.

"Well," she hesitated, "there are these dark shapes that are hovering around this crystal that is shaped like a person that's all curled up. It looks like they are hurt, and for some reason I feel sad. Like I knew them and now they are dead. The weirdest part is that the packs and all of us are there too. At the end of the dream Seth starts howling and then I wake up."

I immediately looked down. The description she gave me made me uneasy. The black shapes sounded a little too similar to the figures in my dreams before I had Renesmee. It was probably nothing, but the thought made me shiver slightly.

"It's just a dream Ness." Jake said as he rubbed her shoulder.

When we reached the house, it was three thirty. I made Renesmee take a shower and get into something nice for Renée. She did this without hesitation. Alice had followed her upstairs to help her choose an outfit.

When she came downstairs she was in her white silk dress. It had little pieces of triangular ice blue cloth that hung down from the edge of the dress until it reached the one large white triangle that was part of the body of the dress. The sleeves had little blue triangles hanging down too, and around her waist was a blue ribbon. It was one of my favorites because it reminded me of ice sickles. The contrast with Nessie's bronze hair made her look even more stunning.

It was one of the dresses Alice had gotten made for her. Alice loved designing outfits for Renesmee. Any chance she got she would make her wear one of her creations. They were usually too fancy for casual wear so Alice saved them for Renée came over. I always knew Renée would love them. She enjoyed seeing Nessie all dressed up.

Edward sighed, and then chuckled under his breath. Before I could ask him what was so funny, Alice leaped down the stairs behind Nessie, and by the look on her face I could tell it was my turn to be tortured. She didn't just design for Nessie anymore.

"_Your_ dress is in my room." Alice sang as she skipped to grab me by the elbow.

I moaned and resisted her pull.

Alice looked back at me with a mischievous smile.

"If you don't come peacefully, I'll tell Renée."

She knew that Renée would be disappointed if she found out I had refused to dress up for her visit. If it was just Charlie I could have gotten away with it. He knew the torture of being Alice's life sized doll.

I sighed, and surrendered. As Alice tugged at my arm, I thought of happy things; watching Nessie play with the family, Watching Edward and Alice play chess, watching Jasper and Carlisle fall into the river while they were wrestling…

When we got to Alice's room, she dropped my hand and ran to the closet. The happy thoughts continued until Alice took the dress out of the bag.

"Well?" Alice asked, looking hopeful.

"I have to congratulate you Alice." I said with a grimace. "You have successfully come up with one more way to kill a vampire. Seriously! What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me?"

Alice rolled her eyes, and Emmett's muffled laugh came from downstairs, joined by the laughter of Edward and Jake.

The dress that Alice held was made of dusky pink silk. She knew I hated pink _and_ silk. If that was not bad enough, the top and skirt of the dress was covered in frilly pink lace with tiny white pearl beading. Pink, silk, lace, _and_ frilly. There was no happy thought in the world that could help me escape from this.

"Just put it on, and stop complaining." Alice laughed, as she handed me the outfit. "I need to get dressed too." She said as she grabbed another dress bag, and went to the bathroom to change.

I closed my eyes and stripped to my underwear so I could slip the sleeveless dress over my head. Of course it fit perfectly.

_Why couldn't they have messed up the measurements on this one?_ I thought as I put on the pearl necklace and clip on earrings that were in the box next to the dress bag.

When Alice came out to do my hair, she was in a dark grey dress with light grey frills on the bottom. Silver buttons connected the frills where they left an opening on the hem. She did not need to get dressed up for Renée, but this was Alice we were talking about. She loved anything to do with fashion. She even made Rose dress up.

As I was thinking about it, Rose came up in her cream knee length dress with a large gold button bunching up the silk by her left thigh, so that a fountain of silk hung down from the button.

"Ok. Why am I the only one who has to look like an idiot?"

Rose laughed and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Renée is coming up the driveway." Rosalie sang.

"I know." Alice said, teasing her sister.

Rose rolled her eyes, and headed downstairs. I couldn't help giggling.

"Alright. You're all done. Don't pick at the pearls! I don't want to have to put them back on." She kept mumbling as she dragged me back downstairs.

When Jake saw me in the frilly nightmare he tried to hold back a laugh. A chuckle came out of Edwards's mouth too. I thought they were thinking that I looked as silly as I felt, and my lower lip started to tremble.

Edward saw my reaction and immediately stopped laughing and ran to me. He held me in his arms.

"You look wonderful darling." He reassured me. "It is just that you look like you are being burnt at the stake." He chuckled again and kissed me.

"Stop being so melodramatic Bella." Alice complained. "I designed it myself just for you."

"You could have shown some mercy." I grumbled back, and this sent a new wave of laughter through Jacob and Edward.

"I like it." Renesmee chimed in. I did not know where she inherited her tolerance for Alice's ensembles, but it was certainly not from me.

We heard Renée and Charlie walking up the steps of the porch. It sounded like Renée was dragging him towards the house. Charlie had always been more hesitant to come over. After seeing Jake phase, he had been a little unsettled around him.

It wasn't that he did not enjoy coming over. It was just that, like all normal humans, he felt uncomfortable around mythical creatures. Renée and I were the rare exceptions.

"Hey everyone!" Renée beamed as she opened the door.

"Hey mom." I said as I walked over to give her a hug. It burned my throat, but I was used to it now and it did not tempt me anymore. I moved to hug Charlie who was still standing in the doorway.

"Hey Dad." I said timidly.

"Hey kiddo." He said as he hugged me back with the same timid expression that was echoing in his voice. "Lookin'…good. Very….frilly….and pink."

I heard Emmett chuckle behind me.

"It is absolutely adorable" Renée smiled. "Nessie, you look so lovely. I love the dress. Oh, Rose, that has to be one of the most gorgeous dresses I have ever seen. Alice, you are amazing!"

We let her swoon over the dresses Alice had tortured us with for a while. It did not take long for her to remember the reason for her visit.

"Well," Renée began, "Where is the ring?"

Renesmee held out her hand for Renée and Charlie to see. I did not have to see the ring to know what it looked like. It was a silver band with small crystals going all the way around it. In the center was a diamond. Jake had asked me to help choose it. He had said that he did not know how to choose an engagement ring, and did not want to mess up. I knew what Renesmee liked, and I knew she would love it.

"Oh," Renée gasped, "it is beautiful."

"You did a good job Jake." Charlie complimented.

"I can't take all the credit." Jake replied, and he turned to wink at me.

"When is the wedding?" Renée asked with excitement.

We all looked at Alice, who had started beaming. We all knew she was the one who would eventually plan the wedding.

"It will be this summer." Alice sang. "July twenty third at the beach on the reservation." It would be sunny that day and the elders finally agreed to let us cross the border.

I thought of the rainbow pebbles on the beach when the sun came out. They would glisten in the sun, and the water would turn ice blue. It would be beautiful. The perfect place for the wedding.

As the talk of the wedding plans continued, Edward got quiet and started mumbling to himself about how Renesmee was still too young, and how Jacob was not good enough for her.

I elbowed him in the side, and he immediately stopped. I had made him promise to have a good attitude about everything. But when I went to scold him, his eyes met mine and my mind went blank. That should not happen to me anymore. I was a vampire.

Edward saw what happened. He chuckled and quickly pulled me in for a kiss. I would never get tired of that.

Alice, Esme, Renée, Rose, and Nessie talked about the wedding, and discussed everything from the flowers to the Dress.

When the topic of food came up, Jake jumped right in. It was agreed that Emily and Edward would handle the food together. Edward was one of the best cooks in the family and Emily had the tools to make the food in the large quantities necessary. Both packs would be there, and they would need plenty of food.

"Well," Renée began when they were finishing up with the wedding plans, "it is almost sunset. Who wants to go for a walk? Or a run?" she winked at Nessie.

Renesmee extended her hand, and ran to her grandma.

"You too Charlie." Renée called to him. "You could use the exercise."

I heard Charlie mumble _I'm healthy as a horse, _and trudged towards Renee.

"Why don't you come too Bella. Let's have a family walk."

I usually stayed at home with Edward when Nessie and Renée went on their walks, but I could not say no to Renée this time. I kissed Edward and want to join my mom, dad and daughter.

The walk was nice. It was warmer out than usual. Renée kept the conversation going, and I let the sound of her voice become a peaceful hum in the back of my head. It was so nice having Renée know about the world of mythology. I remembered when we told her.

I could hear Renée's car coming up the driveway. Charlie was waiting outside with Jacob and Edward. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. Was that possible?

"Are you sure I shouldn't put the contacts in?" I asked Alice.

"Don't worry." She sang. "Your eyes are close enough to gold that you won't need them."

"But she might feel more comfortable if I had my old eye color." I argued.

"Bella," Alice said as she put her hands firmly on my shoulders "she'll be fine."

"How do you know?" I retaliated.

Alice glared at me and let go. Emmett chuckled at her reaction to my moment of worry. Alice rolled her eyes at both of us.

"Jasper," she called, and I felt a wave of calm crash over me.

I felt a tug on my jeans, and looked down to see Renesmee reaching for me. I bent down so she could reach my face. The image she showed me was full of curiosity.

"Your Grandma is coming to see you for the first time." I told her. "It will be like Grandpa." I hope.

"Hello Edward. Jacob." I heard Renée greet them outside. "Charlie said you wanted to tell me something, and that I couldn't bring Phil." I heard the puzzlement in her voice, and heard her shift her weight as she looked for me. "Where's Bella?"

"Before you see Bella," Edward began. "Jacob and I must share some things with you." He paused before starting again. "You do not live in the world you thought you lived in Renée. There are things in this world you have only dreamt of. Charlie?"

I heard Charlie take her hand as Jake started to phase. I heard the tearing of cloth and the thud of paws on the ground.

There was an intake of air from Renée, but the sound I had been expecting was missing. There was no screaming or vomiting or even the sound of a body hitting the ground.

I heard Jake come back out from the bushes after he had phased back.

"Amazing." I heard Renée gasp. "It's impossible. Are you a…werewolf?"

"Close enough." Jake laughed. "Man Charlie, she is a hundred times better than you were."

"This is all so…..cool!" Renée started again " Do you have special powers? What can you do? Wait! But what does this have to do with Bella? Is she a mythical creature now too?" She was starting to sound like some fan girl who found out her favorite fantasy was coming to life in front of her eyes.

"In a way." Edward began. "We can't tell you everything, because it would put you in danger, but she is…more like us now. I must also warn you that we have acquired another person who is more special than all of us."

This was my cue. I took a gulp of air before turning the corner and walking out the door.

I saw Renée's eyes bulge for a few seconds when she first looked at me. I smiled at her. "Hi Mom."

It took her a couple more seconds to compose herself before she gave me a big hug.

"Oh Bella. I missed you so much." She cried. She did not even cringe away from my cold hard skin.

When she stood back, she saw Renesmee hiding behind my legs.

"Is this who you were talking about?" she asked as she peered at the hidden face behind my legs.

I nodded, and Renée smiled and knelt down so she could talk to her.

"Hello. I'm Bella's mommy." She said to Renesmee in her kindest voice. "What is your name?"

"My name is Renesmee." She sang. "It is nice to meet you."

Renée gasped at the sound of her voice and her flawless grammar, but she quickly collected herself.

"It is nice to meet you too." She began. "Come here so I can see you."

Renesmee looked up at me to make sure it was ok. I nodded, and Renesmee stepped out from behind my legs.

Renée's reaction was similar to Charlie's. She saw my eyes, Edward's face, Charlie's curls, and I could see her counting in her head.

"She is…"

"Edward's niece." I interrupted. "We adopted her after his brother and his wife died."

Renée was not fooled. "Bella, she has your eyes, needless to say Charlie's hair."

"That's sort of need to know."

Renée was extremely stubborn.

"But she has to be about three or four years old!" Renée disagreed.

"We can't tell you the specifics," Edward comforted her "only that she is special. We are keeping you on the same need-to-know basis as Charlie. It is for your own safety."

Renée pondered all the new information for a while. I was getting nervous until she finally looked at me and Renesmee.

"I'm a grandma?" she asked.

Everyone laughed, and went inside. Renesmee won her over in no time. They had been very close ever since.

The sun was setting, and the sky was a mix of red, pink, and orange. By twilight, we were back to the house, and Renesmee's eyes were fighting to stay open.

"Well, I better give you your present before you pass out." Renée said with a chuckle, after finishing her story about Phil's argument with the umpire at his last game.

Renesmee's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. Renée always had fun and unique gifts for Nessie.

Renée reached into one of the bags she had brought with her, and pulled out a small, square, package with silver wrapping. It would fit in Renesmee's hand. Nessie carefully tore off the paper to reveal a mahogany box.

Renesmee lifted the lid, and a familiar song drifted from the box. Somewhere Out There was one of Nessie's favorite songs. A little bride and groom danced in front of the mirror that was placed on the lid.

"I thought it would be nice to put memories from the wedding in. Like a kind of memento box."

"It's beautiful. Thank you grandma." She whispered as she flung her arms around Renée's neck.

"Your welcome sweetheart." Renée said as she hugged her back. "Well, I guess we better be going." She told us after hugging Renesmee.

Charlie and Renée gathered their things and got them into the car. Everyone hugged them goodbye.

"Bye Dad." I said as I hugged Charlie.

"Bye Bells." He whispered. "Love ya."

"I love you too dad." I whispered back. "Tell Sue she can come over next time." I laughed.

Charlie chuckled. Sue did not like to come over when Renée was here. She did not want to get in the way.

I turned to Renée to give her a hug before she left. I threw my arms around her and hugged her as tightly as I could without hurting her.

"I love you mom." I whispered to her before she got into the car.

"I love you too honey." She replied, and hugged me tighter.

Everyone waved as the car disappeared down the driveway and into the night. As soon as it was out of sight I turned to face Alice.

"Can I _please_ get out of this dress now?" I begged. I was ready to get on my hands and knees if necessary.

"Yes." Alice rolled her eyes. "I will need to keep it so don't you do anything to it."

I ran upstairs, and quickly shrugged out of the pink disaster. I hung it in the darkest corner of Alice's closet, before leaving.

When I got back, Renesmee was dosing off on Jake's shoulder, so Edward picked her up, and we walked slowly to our small cottage in silence.

The crickets were singing, and an owl took flight in the distance. The purple night was full of magical creatures, who quickly hid as we walked by.

Everything was peaceful. Everything was perfect. It had been about five years since the "incident" with the Volturi. But we had scared them off, and now everything was perfect. I had eternity to spend with my daughter, and eternity to spend with Edward. Our lives were normal again, and everything was the way it should be.

I looked into Edwards eyes, and we started running together towards the house, hand in hand. We reached the small stone cottage that was tinted purple from the night.

We walked through the stone arch above the open door, and down the hall to Renesmee's bedroom. Edward carried her to her bed, and tucked her in, and I gave her a goodnight kiss.

Edward and I walked silently to our private heaven, and with one passionate kiss from Edward, he led me into one of my favorite parts of my forever.


	3. The Beginning of the End

**The Beginning of the End**

Edward and I froze as we heard the blood curdling scream that came from Renesmee's room. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my robe from the headboard. I could hear Edward following me as I raced down the hall.

I flung the door open, and was holding Renesmee a fraction of a second later.

"They were so real." She murmured between frightened sobs. "I remember them now. They hurt her."

"Who?" I asked her, trying to sound calm as I put my arms around her.

Renesmee put her spare hand to my cheek, and I froze when I saw what she was showing me.

Shrouded figures, all in ashy cloaks, glided silently towards the center of a large field. They all gathered around a crystal object. The crystal had taken a specific form. It looked like the shape was that of a girl, but other than that the image told me nothing about the person. However, I knew, as sometimes people do in dreams, that this was a person I deeply cared about. The feeling reminded me of when Alice left us before that horrid almost-battle, but intensified. More like she had died rather than left.

The most unnerving thing of all was the object that was in the hand of one of the three tall cloaked figures. In his hand, he was holding a crystal heart.

I held back a gasp as I saw it all. It was as clear as if it had really happened.

"It's ok. It's ok. You're ok." I crooned as I rocked her back and forth.

I looked up, and my eyes met Edward's. I saw my worries mirrored in his face.

We sat there, rocking her until the sun peaked through the trees. Renesmee had refused to fall asleep again, though she did doze off now and then.

"Let's go to the house." Edward suggested.

I nodded, and Renesmee got up from the bed and went to get dressed. Edward and I went back to our room to do the same.

I was looking through my shirts, thinking about Renesmee when Edward came over and put his arm around me. I looked into his eyes and saw my worried face reflected in them. I put my cheek to his chest and sighed.

"The dreams are getting worse every night. I'm getting worried."

"I'm worried too." Edward said as he rubbed my back, trying to comfort me. "All I can think of is the dreams you had before the Volturi…"

I cringed at the name, and Edward stopped. He pulled me back so that he could look me in the eyes.

"Let's get to the house. We will probably feel better once we get there."

I nodded, and grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a blue tank top. Renesmee was in the hall waiting for us. She took my hand, and we started out the door at a run.

The morning was warmer than normal for Forks, Washington. The birds were singing, and the sky was turning pink to blue, and our skin caught little rays of sun as we ran.

When we reached the house, Jake was at the door waiting for Renesmee. She ran straight to him and gave him a big hug. She looked much calmer when she reached him.

Jake kissed the top of her head, then looked up at Edward with anxious eyes. Edward nodded at him. I did not have to read his mind to know what he was asking. He was just as worried about her dreams as the rest of us.

They walked inside the house, and Edward and I followed. Esme was in the kitchen, cooking food for Seth who was sitting, watching the news with Carlisle. I could Hear Emmett and Jasper wrestling upstairs. Alice was out on a quick hunting trip with Rose. They would be back in time to go to school.

"Hey guys." Seth greeted us from the couch.

"Hey Seth." Renesmee greeted as she sat on the other side of the couch with Jacob.

"Hey lil' bro." I greeted Seth in what I hoped sounded like a cheerful voice.

Seth smiled at his new nickname, and then turned back to the TV and the plate of food that was sitting on his lap. It was odd to think that a vampire and a werewolf could be step siblings, but I had always liked Seth. His sister was still getting used to the idea.

I motioned for Jacob to follow me into the dining room. He nodded, and quietly got up. When he reached me, I could see the worry on his face.

"How bad was it?"

"She woke up screaming." I could hear the worry in both of our voices.

"I wish there was something we could do." Jacob grumbled as he paced along the far end of the table.

I grabbed his wrist as he passed by me. He looked down at me for a quick moment, and pulled me into his big bear hug. I could tell it comforted both of us just enough to get us through the day.

We heard a series of loud thuds upstairs, and rushed to see what it was. We got to the living room in time to see Jasper and Emmett come tumbling down the stairs and into the sculpture by the antique table in the corner. Jasper swung around and kicked Emmett in the gut. He was able to catch the sculpture before it could hit the ground and shatter.

I could not contain my laughter. Everyone was laughing at their odd entrance except Esme, who was staring with wide eyes at the sculpture in Jaspers hand.

Carlisle saw the look on her face and quickly tried to stop laughing. Everyone else attempted to do the same, with no success.

"What have I said about fighting in the house?"Esme scolded.

Emmett and Jasper stood up, looking like two children who had been caught playing catch with their mother's best china.

"Take it outside." She said, turning back towards the kitchen.

Emmett and Jasper obeyed, playfully punching each other on their way out.

I could feel the day slowly working back into its normal routine. We started to get our things together for school. We did not need any of the books or the notes, but they were all important props in the human facade.

"Can I drive the Volvo today?" I asked on our way out the door. "I never get to drive."

Edward smiled at me and kissed the top of my head.

"Of course you can." He assured me as we got to the car.

He walked to his side, and tossed me the keys. I caught them while I was opening the door.

"I never get to drive." I heard Jacob joke. "Even Nessie gets to drive. She has her new Mustang. When will you ever get me a car?"

We all laughed as we started to school. On the way we chatted about the plans for the day. We decided that we had to eat something at lunch today. People had started to notice that we never ate. It would not be pleasant afterwards.

I had found out that when a vampire eats human food it sits in their stomach until they can "hack it out" as Jake so delicately put it. I had done it before, and it was not pleasant at all. Needless to say I was not looking forward to lunch. Renesmee and Jake were the lucky ones among us.

Emmett had challenged Edward to a fight with him and Jasper after school. He had said that he wondered if multiple opponents could lessen Edward's advantage, and he wanted to test the theory. I knew he just wanted an excuse for another fight.

Edward wanted us to work on my shield some more. He still wanted to be able to read my mind. I had been practicing, but even after almost six years it was difficult. The only thing that kept me from giving up was the look of joy on Edward's face when I got it right.

Renesmee was dozing off again about ten minutes after we left the house. We let her sleep, being sure not to talk. We wanted her to catch up on her many hours of lost sleep. If she got restless, we would wake her up.

She was still asleep by the time we reached the large sign that welcomed us to Port Angeles High School. We parked in our normal spot, and Rose's convertible pulled up next to us a couple seconds later. Edward turned around in his chair and nodded to Jacob, telling him to wake Renesmee up. Jake gave Renesmee a gentle nudge, and she stirred before her eyes fluttered open. She stretched, and yawned, before she sat up to look at us.

"Are you sure you are up to school today?" Edward asked her tenderly. "It's healthy to ditch class now and then." He stated as he looked at me. I smiled at him, and he winked at me before turning his attention back to Nessie.

Renesmee gave a weak smile and sat up. She shook her head without speaking. Edward nodded back, and turned around.

I heard Jacob grab her books for her, and help her out of the car. She leaned on him all the way to English class. We sat down in our normal seats; Jake on her left and I on her right. Alice danced into the room to take the seat behind her.

When Alice saw my, outfit she scowled at me.

"That's it!" She complained. "I am doing a complete search of your house! I can't find out where you are hiding all the tank tops and T-Shirts! I _will_ find them, and when I do you will never see them again." She threatened.

Jake chuckled with Renesmee as I rolled my eyes at Alice's mini tantrum.

"Anyway," she began again. "We are canceling all our plans for this afternoon. There is a thunderstorm passing near the old baseball field, and the rest of us want to play some sports. We need your votes on whether we should play baseball or extreme tackle football." Alice rolled her eyes at the last option. The guys had probably voted for that.

"Baseball!" I said quickly.

"Baseball." Nessie agreed.

I could see Jake was about to say football. The word had begun forming in his mouth when Renesmee gave him a warning look.

"Baseball." He murmured. Renesmee took his hand, and gave him a warm smile, probably telling him he made the right choice.

We all looked up as Mr. Rolf cleared his throat. Much of the chatter around us died, or quieted to a whisper, as his lecture on the importance of the S.A.T's started.

The first half of the day went by smoothly. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing exciting happened. I had every class with Nessie this morning except Honors Trig and Biology. Jasper and Rose were in her Trig class, and Jake and Emmett were in her Biology class so I was not worried.

At lunch, we sat at our normal table at the north corner of the cafeteria. I quickly shoved down the pizza that I had bought so that I could get the unpleasant task over with. Edward held my hand as I swallowed. He knew how much I hated the feeling of food sliding down my throat, and even worse, sliding around in my stomach whenever I moved. I envied Jake and Nessie, who ate their food pleasantly. I would sneak to the nearby woods to privately "dispose" of it between classes.

The rest of my family did the same with their food, quickly chewing and swallowing so they did not have to deal with the taste or the texture. Rosalie and Jasper left their crusts on the tray like some of the other students.

"That's it!" I heard Emmett say on his last bite. "I say we take turns. If someone notices we are not eating, some of us will eat and the others won't so not all of us have to do this. We will switch off the next time people get suspicious."

"Sounds good to me." I agreed enthusiastically as I set what was left of my pizza back on the plate.

"No argument here." Edward mumbled as he pushed his tray away.

"I'm in." Alice laughed as she followed Edwards's example.

"Let's be sure to ask Carlisle about it right away." Rose agreed as she flicked her crust across the room in one swift movement.

"Very human." Edward commented. Rose rolled her eyes at him, and threw her apple at him with a small flick of her wrist. Edward caught it, and placed it gently on his tray in one fluid movement.

"If you're not gonna' eat that…" Jake started, staring at the half eaten pizzas in the center of the table.

I slid the tray's towards him and he shoved each one down in no time.

It always felt like we were almost normal when we were at school. With the exception of our extra senses, we spent our day like any other teenagers. We went to class, hung out together, fooled around, and had fun whenever we could, though it was a little different for Edward and me. It was hard playing sibling to your daughter.

When the first person left the cafeteria, I quickly dumped my tray, and walked swiftly out the door and towards the nearby woods. I could feel the pizza rolling in my stomach as I walked, and I walked faster.

When I reached the woods, I ran where no one would see me. About a mile in, I fell to my knees and heaved as hard as I could. I disposed of the pizza quickly, and was able to return before the other students even finished their food.

Renesmee and Jake were waiting outside for the rest of us to return. I skipped to them, and waited with them until the rest of the family came bounding out of the woods one by one. Once we were all together, we grouped up, and headed to our different afternoon classes.

Edward and I walked to our Biology class together, and we caught a glimpse of Alice and Nessie going to the American History room across the hall.

As they entered their room, Edward looked back at me. He looked deep into my eyes, and did not stop until we had entered our room, and sat in our chairs in the back.

"What?" I asked as I gathered my thoughts.

Edward chuckled quietly. "You'll see."

I was about to demand an answer when Ms. Bornack came in, wheeling a TV behind her. I immediately knew what he was thinking, and I scooted my chair to the side just as she turned out the lights.

The electric current was still present, like it had been years ago in the classroom at Forks High School. The only difference now was that it was stronger. I could not stop my hand from reaching for his, and I was surprised when his did the same. I forced my shield away from my body completely.

_Feels like it was yesterday that we were in that Biology class._

Edward jumped slightly, not expecting to hear my thoughts. He smiled, and nodded slightly.

_Everything has changed so much since then. _I thought as I turned my head to listen to the steady fluttering of Renesmee's heart across the hall.

Edward did the same. We sat there for a long moment, listening to the steady beating of our daughter's heart. The electric current ran between us through our intertwined fingers.

The video was over too quickly. Ms. Bornack flicked the switch by the door and the lights flickered. Edward and I shared a final glance as the kids around us adjusted their eyes to the change in light. We then got up, and together went to our last classes for the day.

The rest of the day went by faster than usual. The feeling of everyday routine seems to speed everything up. The ride home from school was quiet as Renesmee slept. When we got to the house everyone finished their homework with ease. At least everyone except Jacob. Jacob was always the last to finish. We didn't blame him. Not everyone could have perfect recall.

While he finished up, everyone got some extra stuff done. Edward and I were working on my shield some more. He was impressed by my use of it during Biology, and was eager to try again. He wanted to see how long I could keep it away, and how fast I could do it. Emmett was nagging us the entire time.

"Emmett…" I whined when my shield collapsed.

"Come on! One match. Jasper and me versus you." He begged as I tried to push my shield out again.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Even if it was you, Jasper, _and_ Bella I could _still_ beat you. Give it up Emmett."

I stopped as he said my name. I now had a great way to get out of the boring exercise.

"Alright then." I challenged. "Emmett, Jasper, and I will whoop your butt!"

Emmett and Edward looked at me, astonished. Emmett's shocked face soon turned into one of pure joy.

"Alright Bella!" he cheered and put his hand up for a high-five. I had to jump to reach it.

"Meet us out back." I called behind me to a still shocked Edward.

We passed Jake and Nessie on our way to the door. They could barely contain their laughter. Carlisle, Esme, and Rose were on the porch laughing as well. Jasper was waiting in the yard with Alice. They were chuckling silently as well.

We waited until Edward came out. He stood in front of us, smiling smugly. I could tell he was reading every maneuver Emmett and Jasper were thinking of.

"On the count of three." Jasper announced. "One…Two…"

"Three! I yelled quickly as I lunged at Edward unexpectedly.

He quickly got me off, but it gave the others the advantage they needed. They were on top of him in no time. It took a while to get him to the ground, but, soon enough, I had my teeth inches away from his throat.

Emmett jumped up and started celebrating his victory. Jasper unexpectedly joined in. Edward was laughing, and I smiled at him.

"You are devious." He joked as he touched my nose with his index finger.

I laughed with everyone as we went back inside. Nessie was helping Jake with his last math problem. They were almost finished, but Emmett was impatient anyway. He loved a good game of baseball.

"Done!" Jake cheered as he slammed his math book shut.

"Let's go!" Emmett agreed enthusiastically.

"Hurry up and get your stuff." Alice started. "The storm will be here in half an hour, and I know how long you guys like to play."

Everyone started getting the equipment together. I got a large duffle bag to put the bats and the baseballs in. We usually went through a couple when we played.

Alice was handing me the bats that Carlisle gave her to put in the bag. We had a steady routine going, until Alice froze.

"_Alice? Alice what's wrong?_" Jasper panicked as he dropped the bag of baseballs, and grabbed her shoulders. We all surrounded her, fluttering around her uselessly. Jasper shook her with such force, I feared she would snap.

She was standing there staring at something that wasn't there. This was a look I had seen before, but more stressed and anxious. It was worse than when she saw the newborns coming for me. Worse than the Volturi coming for Renesmee. She stood there staring into the future and the horror we would soon face.

I looked at Edward, hoping for an answer, but he was just as horrified, if not more so, than Alice.

"_Edward?_" I immediately ran to Edward to check on him. He was frozen in place, with his eyes bulging.

Renesmee stood hugging Jake with wide eyes. Jacob seemed to be the only one who seemed the least bit calm, probably in an attempt to comfort Renesmee. Always his first priority.

We all knew what this had to be that made both Alice and Edward beyond horrified, but we were too scared to even think it. As if to confirm it, Edward whispered two words. The two words we feared the most. The two words that would mark the destruction of everything I loved.

"The Volturi."


	4. Hope

**Hope**

"Again…Why…How…I thought…" was all I could manage. I could not comprehend why the Volturi would want to attack us after that winter not even six years ago. I knew they would come for us eventually, but not so soon.

"They think we are a threat. They want to keep their thrones."

"We have no interest in power Edward, the Volturi should know that." Rose argued back.

"But they know that we know their dirty little secret." Jasper spoke up. " They fear in time we will use that knowledge against them; reveal to the world what their true mission is in hopes that the Vampire world will see them for what they really are, rise up, and rebel against them."

"Exactly." Edward nodded. "This isn't a trial. There will be no witnesses, and therefore no charades to give us extra time. They come to fight, and get rid of us before we get rid of them."

"Well, we scared them away once, we can do it again." I did not even have to guess that Emmett was the one who had spoken up.

"Emmett." I breathed. "Shut up!"

"It won't be that simple this time." Edward continued. "They have added to the guard since then, and convinced other covens to join them as well. There will be at least twice as many as last time, and who knows the talents that their additions will have. Even if we got Renesmee's army back together there would still not be enough vampires to even intimidate them."

After our last encounter with the Volturi when we had gotten all of Carlisle's friends together to witness for Nessie, we had since then referred to the group as "Renesmee's army". There were six covens including us and a couple nomads. We had also had the wolves on our side. The two packs had both found it necessary to be there to protect my daughter so they could prevent the Volturi from hurting anyone in the tribe in their search for leftover werewolves.

At the time we had outnumbered them. We may have even had a chance of making it out alive. But now that the Volturi had doubled in size….

"We don't have a chance, do we?" I barely got the words out of my mouth.

Edward and Alice shared a defeated glance. I wrapped my arms around Edward and Renesmee who had moved to my side. Was this it then? Had everything I had put this family through come to this. I couldn't help but think this was all my fault. If I had never existed, or stayed away from Edward. The thought was unbearable, but not as heartbreaking as the thought of losing him.

"We can still try." said an all too eager Emmett.

"EMMETT!" Alice, Esme, and I all glared at him, and Rosalie hissed. How could he want to fight when there was no hope?

"We can't do this alone." Carlisle said to Emmett. "We will need to gather all our allies. If the Volturi are coming for us then they will come for them too. Anyway, they should come just in case my idea does not work."

"Then there is hope?" Edward asked as he loosened his hold on me. "You have a plan." It was not a question, but a statement as Edward took in what Carlisle was thinking.

Carlisle took a quick glance at the confused and anxious faces around the room before speaking.

"There is one person who can help us. The Volturi fear her as much as they fear Bella, and in some ways, maybe more. She will be hard to find, but if we can convince her to join us then we will have no trouble with the Volturi at all. Since they are trying to kill me now, I don't think I have to keep her a secret anymore."

Everyone looked at Carlisle in wonder, confusion, and Pure desperation. Who could the Volturi fear more than me? More than "Renesmee's army?" More than any Vampire and probably any other creature in existence?

"Amazing." Edward stood there frozen because of what he saw in Carlisle's mind. It was times like this that Edwards gift really annoyed me.

I was the first to ask the obvious question.

"Who?"

"Her name is Scarlet." Carlisle began. "She has the unique ability to….manipulate the skills of the vampires around her. She can bend them to a form she likes and use them. She is the most carefully covered up vampire of all time. She is even considered to be a myth by many of our kind."

"The Skill Bender." Jasper almost whispered. "She can't be real. She is a creature of myth. There is no proof she ever existed."

Jacob rolled his eyes at Jasper. If there was one thing we had learned by now, it was that just about every myth had some form of truth to it, if not the whole truth.

"The myth," Carlisle began again, "was created by the Volturi to keep others from finding her and using her against them. I did meet her when I was living with them in Italy. She demonstrated her skills for them. It was the only time Jane ever felt her own flame. She only did so after Jane tried to burn her of course. Scarlet immediately turned off Jane's power when she felt it coming. When Felix tried to stop her she used Jane's Power to burn him too."

By this time everyone was staring at Carlisle. Even Renesmee and Jake were drawn into the story.

"Aro was thrilled of course." Carlisle shook his head in disapproval. "He asked her to demonstrate what else she could do. Seconds later he could hear every thought anyone in the room ever had. She bent his skill so he could hear multiple people. This also enabled him to see everything she was capable of. Of course, once he found out what Scarlet could do, he asked her to join them, but Chelsea could not make her feel any attachment to the Volturi when Scarlet was blocking her skill. In fact, I think she used Chelsea's skill to make us want to let her go. After she left, no one ever heard from her again."

There was silence as we each processed Carlisle's story. I could not help but grin at the image of Jane doubled-over in pain caused by her own power.

"The problem will be finding the leech." Jacob stated. Renesmee swatted him across the arm for using that term.

"Oww! Nessie!"

Renesmee gave him the look she usually gave him when she scolded him.

"OK, fine. The vampire then."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. She always looked like Edward when she did that.

Carlisle thought for a while. He seemed to be searching his memory for any clue to where the girl might be.

"I have heard rumors that she lives in a large field that is surrounded by woods, somewhere in the northern forests of Wyoming." Carlisle replied. "It is said she never leaves the immediate area. Of course, the Volturi pass off the rumors as lies."

"Well, are we going?"Alice said in a cheerful voice. "I am dying to see which way we need to go."

Jasper was the first to chime in.

"We should start with the national parks. They have plenty of wooded areas. We can start with the west side and split up so we can find her faster."

He kept talking as he moved to the globe that sat on the table in the corner of the room. Everyone followed except Jake and Renesmee. When I got to the globe they were still talking.

"We will follow the latitude lines back and forth until we reach the base of Wyoming. By then we will have found her if she is there at all."

"Give me a chance to see if she is there." Alice said.

While Alice looked for Scarlet, I stood next to Edward and held his hand as tight as I could. Every time I thought my life was perfect, something had to come and threaten to take it all away.

"Mom?" I heard Renesmee say.

I twirled around to face her.

"Why do the Volturi keep coming for us? Weren't Grandpa Carlisle and Aro friends back in Italy? Why would someone kill a friend?"

"I don't know honey." I said carefully. How do you explain something like that to your daughter? How do you explain the greed and resentment of the world to someone so good and pure?

I was trying to find a way to explain everything to her when Alice saved me by waking up from her trance with some important news.

"We will find her." She said confidently. "In a clearing in the woods, near the edge of Jackson Lake."

"That is in Grand Teton National Park." Carlisle replied as he pointed at a location on the globe.

"The perimeter won't take long to search." Jasper chimed in. "We won't even have to split up."

"In this case that would be wise." Carlisle replied. "We don't know if there will be any other vampires nearby, and what powers they may possess. If they are dangerous we will want to be able to get out of there quickly, and as a whole."

"When will we go?" Rosalie asked.

"Let's be ready in half an hour." Carlisle said without thinking. "Get into something comfortable. It will be a long run. We will warn the others afterwards."

Though comfort wasn't an issue, we all knew what Carlisle meant, and the others ran upstairs to get ready.

"We are running?" I asked in astonishment. We usually took the cars anywhere. Running was not very common for getting around.

"This is an emergency." Carlisle replied as he got up and headed for his room. "We don't have time for traffic."

"Jake?" I called and Jacob spun around to look at me.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come with us to Wyoming? I don't feel comfortable leaving you two here alone."

"No problem."

"Oh," I said as I turned to leave, "you should probably let Sam know."

Jake smiled at me, and Edward, Renesmee, and I ran out the door and headed to the cottage.

The trip was fast. We did not talk. Jake had stayed behind to phase. When we got to the cottage, I got into the first sweats and shirt I grabbed. I got Renesmee one of her more durable outfits.

When I got outside, Jake was waiting as a wolf. Edward had a duffle bag and was putting it on his back. I could smell the peanut butter and jelly and I knew it was food for Jake and Renesmee.

Nessie walked over to Jake and after giving him a kiss on the bridge of his nose she climbed swiftly onto his back. She could run fast, but she had a hard time keeping up.

"Let's get back to the house." Edward said.

The run back to the house was just as quiet as the run to the cottage. We were all deep in thought. We had all known the Volturi would come for us again, but why now? Did they think that by acting so soon after the first encounter that we would have less time to react? Why not wait to gain strength? We may never find out.

Renesmee was hugging Jake's neck as he ran. I could tell that she was worried. She had seen the Volturi only once before, and then they were trying to kill us. I couldn't blame her. We were all worried. It seemed that our only hope was this Scarlet person.

The air that blew on our faces would have calmed us down under normal circumstances. It did nothing as we ran back to the house.

When we got there we could hear the others running around. It sounded like Carlisle was talking to Tanya from the Denali coven on the phone. By the time we got in the house he had hung up.

"Tanya is going to find the others and warn them while we look for Scarlet." Carlisle informed us. "They will get here when they can."

This news seemed to cheer Renesmee up a little bit. She had missed her new friends from that winter long ago. She had formed a special bond with Zafrina of the Amazon coven. She had loved her "pretty pictures" so much that she spent most of the day with her when she was here. She seemed to also like it when Benjamin of the Egyptian coven made the water from the river shoot up in geysers in the air. She had not had a chance to visit them since then.

"Did you tell them about Scarlet?" Edward asked. He looked concerned.

Carlisle shook his head. "I only told them about the situation with the Volturi. We had better save that discussion for later."

Edward relaxed. Their discussion confused me, but this was not the time to ask questions.

Rosalie was the last one downstairs. Everyone was anxious to go.

"We will start with the woods to the west." Carlisle stated. "It is easier to hide there. She would not be in a place where she could be easily found."

"What will we do when we get there?" I asked.

"We will find out when the time comes." Carlisle answered.

We headed out the door and towards the river. One by one we jumped the river and started running southwest towards Wyoming. Edward and I ran together, and Jake was running by my side.

Renesmee looked comfortable on Jake. She was listening to her I-Pod. It was the new one Edward had given her for Christmas last year. She nervously flipped from song to song, and every now and then she would stroke Jake's shoulder.

My breath came steadily and evenly. I was anxious, but if anything, that made me run faster than ever before. The air flowing in and out of my lungs while running was something I usually enjoyed, but now it held no importance for me.

We would stop every now and then for Renesmee to eat and rest. A couple hours after we left, Renesmee fell asleep while riding Jake. She had lost a good amount of sleep last night and the stress probably didn't help. I took her off his back and gave her to Edward so she would not fall off. He kept running with Nessie in his arms, and it barely slowed him down.

We ran through the rest of the night, and by the time we reached Grand Teton the sun was coming up over the trees. The light shone down on us in beams that reflected off our skin as we ran. We woke Renesmee from her nap to eat.

While she was eating, the others were discussing what to do when we found the clearing.

"We can't go in there with our guard down." Jasper argued with himself. "On the other hand, if she feels threatened, she may attack."

"When I met her she did not seem like the kind of person to attack someone without a reason." Carlisle added.

While they discussed our next move, I clung to Edward.

Rose was feeding Renesmee. She was having a difficult time. Renesmee did not like human food very much, but we made her eat some every day. We did not want to keep giving in whenever she asked for donated blood. We let her have a cup now and then instead of hunting, but Edward insisted that we get her to the point where she would eat mostly human food. After almost six years we had not gotten very far. I was comfortable with her drinking animal blood, but Edward wanted her to have a partially normal human life like he had had for me.

"Bella," Rose called "can I have some help?"

"Nessie?" I called using my best parental voice. "Are you being a pain for Rose?"

Renesmee rolled her eyes and groaned, and took a bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Rose was holding. She swallowed it whole so she would not have to taste it.

"Come on Nessie, you're acting like a child." I scolded. It felt odd to say. She was still a child to me in so many ways.

"You'll give yourself a stomach ache by doing that." Rose scolded. "Chew."

Nessie took a smaller bite, and chewed it with exaggeration before swallowing it. She looked at me for approval, and I could not help but giggle.

Renesmee was done eating by the time the others came to a decision. They decided to approach the area slowly and calmly. Carlisle did not want to threaten the vampire in any way.

Alice looked ahead to make sure it was a safe decision.

"It looks fine to me." She sang.

Renesmee wanted to run the rest of the way. She was tired of riding on Jake. She loved Jake, but it made her feel helpless. She had a very independent spirit and did not like the special attention. She was a little slower than the rest of us, but not by much. Edward, Jake, and I stayed close to her.

After about 10 minutes Edward spoke.

"We are close. I can hear her."

Everyone tensed a little, but kept running.

It was not long before we spotted light coming through a break in the trees. There was definitely some sort of clearing ahead. Everyone slowed unconsciously. As we stepped into the clearing we all came to a stop.

In the clearing, surrounded by trees, was a small house. It was a log cabin and it looked like it had been built by hand. It was not very big. It was about the size of my human house, only with one floor. It had two windows in the front, and a white door with a stone path leading to it. There were flowers planted all around the house, and almost every tree by the house had at least one birdfeeder or birdhouse on it.

There was a black cat sleeping on the doorstep. I thought it was odd. Animals tended to stay away from Vampires. It's heartbeat never quickened as we approached, but over the sound of the heartbeat was what sounded like an angel humming.

Carlisle went to knock on the door, but before he did a small voice rang out from the heart of the house.

"Ah, Carlisle. I have been expecting you. Please, come in."

The voice sounded like one that belonged to a child. It was soft but rang out as clear and confident as an adult. We went in slowly and cautiously. The one room cabin was filled with books, pictures, CDs, and records. There was a small fireplace at the far end, and near it was a long couch. On the end of the couch sat a young girl.

She was pale and beautiful, with dark brown hair that waved slightly down her shoulders. It had a slight red hint to it that grew more prominent when the light caught it. It was parted to the left, and the shorter hair hung close to her eyes, but was tucked behind her ear to keep it out of the way. The rest hung below her shoulders. It framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. The dark blue of her knit dress brought out the color in her hair. She looked so sad, and even when she smiled at us it did not touch her eyes. Her lips were a lovely red and her long, delicate eyelashes and dark eyebrows, brought out the surprising dark butterscotch color of her almond shaped eyes.

"The leech is a veggie vamp?" Jake whispered to Renesmee. "Didn't see that one coming."

She was young, probably fourteen or fifteen years old. Everything about the girl was small. She was taller than Alice,(Honestly, who wasn't?) but she seemed smaller in some ways. The only thing that told me she was not a child was her face. It had a mature look to it, even with its slight childish roundness. If it was not for that, I would have immediately thought she was eleven or twelve. She was slender, but had a slight curve.

"Carlisle," the girl greeted him "it has been centuries since I have seen you. I am glad you have finally decided to look me up. I see you have brought company." She scanned her eyes quickly over us.

Renesmee started reaching out to ask Jacob something, but before she could touch him the girl spoke.

"Yes Renesmee. I am Scarlet." Said the girl as if she had heard what Renesmee was thinking.

Renesmee froze. We all looked at her and then back at Scarlet.

"Yes, I can hear you all as long as Edward is near." The girl said, as if answering someone's question. By the look on Esme's face, it was probably her.

"But…." Edward began.

"Skill bender, remember." Scarlet interrupted.

Jake laughed at Edward's expression.

"Now you know how the rest of us feel."

"I hope you don't mind Edward." Scarlet said. "It is a habit. When I feel someone walk into my…perimeter, I have to see what their skills are and what I can do with them. It is like a reflex. I only test them when I am really interested. Your skill Alice, was very entertaining, and Jasper, yours is very original. However I found Edwards very helpful in learning about you and your purpose. Actually, it is the only reason you found me. I would usually run from a group of your magnitude, especially since the Volturi have not come for me in a while. I would have assumed it was them."

The Volturi were still after her? What could have given such a small vampire such a big power? What was her story?

"My story is very similar to yours Bella," She said, answering my unspoken question, "but mine does not have a happy ending."

"But…" I started to protest. How could she read my mind with my shield.

"I turned off your power so I could read your mind." She saw the confusion on my face and continued. " I have no trouble turning off shields because they are usually directed at or from the mind. You see, I have found that the source of a vampire's power is located in their heart but is worked through the brain so all I need to do is…. turn it off through the heart. Anyone else would have to tear the heart out of a vampire to turn a power off, and that would not only turn the power off, but kill them too. The heart is also the source of life for a vampire. It may not beat, but it still holds who you are. The Volturi have kept that a secret for ages. Plus your shield blocks powers aimed at the brain and my power is not exactly mental." Scarlet grinned in apology, though her eyes stayed sad.

"I hope you don't mind. Anyway I assume you want to hear my story. They all do. You don't have to be able to read minds to know that."

She motioned to the couch, inviting us to sit down, even though we did not need to. Still, it was good practice so I sat on the opposite end of the couch and Edward did the same. Alice sat on the floor while Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie stood by the door. Carlisle and Esme stood together next to where Alice was sitting.

"I guess I would have to begin when I was a human in London. My name was Scarlet Linnington. I was born around 1590. I was the eldest of five children. My father was very well known in the town and he was constantly away on business. My mother was always going to parties when he was away. I had to take care of my brothers who all loved to make my life miserable. My mother would come home drunk and hit me and my father never spoke to me. This made me a stronger person mentally. I was able to live through the hard things in life without complaint, but it was a miserable life. Still, now I have the advantage of being stronger than most of our kind."

Emmett narrowed his eyes in concentration. He was probably sizing up the competition. I could not picture the little girl sitting on the couch next to me attacking Emmett. He had to be at least twice her size, if not more. Scarlet ignored Emmett and continued.

"My one saving grace was my gift. It was there even as a human. Whenever I was around someone with a special talent of any kind I was able to do whatever they were able to do just as good as them. If an expert pianist came over I was able to play any song just as well as they could, but if they were not around, I was just as good as any other human who had only had a lesson or two.

"In some ways it was a curse too. My parents used me for bragging rights and to move up in the social circle. When I could not do something because there was no one with that talent nearby they got extremely angry and my mother would beat me.

"Of all my human memories, I will never forget the day I met my first vampire. It was the spring of 1605 I believe. I had just turned fourteen. It was a cloudy day, but warm enough for me to go to the courtyard. There was a secret garden that I had found years ago. It was my favorite place to hide. When I got there I headed straight for the swing hanging from my favorite tree that was in full bloom. A cherry tree I believe it was. There was pink everywhere. It was a very peaceful day and I was all alone, so I started reading my book.

"I had barely started when I saw a boy at the far end of the garden. It did not take me long to notice how beautiful he was. He looked like an angel with dark hair and pale white skin. He had a gentle face with strange mahogany eyes that sparkled when he smiled at me. It took me a while to notice that he was not a boy, but he was not an adult either. He looked like he was about sixteen. I nodded politely to the strange person, and he returned the gesture. He started to walk away when the sun peeked out from behind a thin cloud. I was looking at the boy when this happened, and he sparkled. I was shocked and mystified by his beauty. Seconds later everything went black. The next thing I knew, he was setting me back on the bench.

"He hovered over me and said in a voice like pure music, 'Are you ok miss? The branch hit you in the head.' He gestured to a branch from the cherry tree that was lying on the ground.

"For a second I thought I had imagined it all. Even as he carried me home I decided that it had all been a result of the tree branch. My memory had to have been effected.

"The boy set me at the door of my house. 'Will you be able to make it from here miss?'

"'Call me Scarlet.' I said politely like any young lady should. 'And yes, I'll be fine. Thank you.'

"He looked concerned. 'Do you mind if I check on you tomorrow Scarlet?' He asked politely. 'That branch hit you rather hard.'

"I was not about to pass up an opportunity to see him again so I agreed to meet him back at the courtyard.

" 'Thank you again sir.' I said as I curtsied and headed for the door.

" 'Joel.' He said as I turned to leave. 'My name is Joel Hastings.'

" 'Mr. Hastings' I nodded before going inside.

"The next day when I woke up, I realized that my head did not hurt. If I had really gotten hit in the head with a tree branch the day before my head should have been pounding. I rushed back to the park, and there was Joel waiting for me on the swing. He had realized his mistake, but I could not understand why he was still there. He refused to answer my questions then, but promised to meet me in the park the next day.

"After that we met every day in the park. He eventually told me everything. He told me about the speed and strength. The laws and legends. We would run through the woods together just to get away from the world.

"Anyway, I fell in love. I knew I wanted to be with him forever, but he did not want to risk my life by trying to change me. I could respect that. We decided to wait till he was sure he was able to control himself.

"About two years after we had met, I became ill with the plague. I could not meet Joel in the garden, so he would climb up the wall to my room every night to see me. Everyone thought I was getting better. They thought I would be out of bed in days. They were far from right.

"I took a turn for the worst. I could not move, speak, or even eat. They expected me to die the next day. They were going to take me to the morgue that morning. Joel sat by my bed all night, debating with himself. He realized if he did not try he would lose me and if he tried he would at least have a chance at keeping me with him. He finally decided to change me.

"I woke up days later in the woods. Joel was sitting by my side, holding my hand. My throat burned and I hunted quickly without thinking, but I felt bad about taking someone else's life. After that, human blood had no appeal for me. Joel had no aversion to it, but tried to help me hunt criminals instead. But the guilt remained and the blood tasted worse and worse. He suffered with me as I tried to go for weeks without hunting. Eventually I lost control on a herd of cattle. I had a love for animals back then, and though it still hurt to take any life I was able to escape the regret I felt about killing a human. The blood without the regret tasted sweeter, and I soon formed an immunity to human blood. Joel did the same to keep me happy.

"We eventually decided to get away from London. We traveled the world together, searching for other Vampires. That's when I discovered my skill.

"Joel had no skill so I was surprised one day to find myself suddenly able to control Joel with my voice. Like hypnotism. We met a small coven not long after that had a vampire with the same skill, although my version was more potent than hers.

"After many years of traveling we decided to settle down and move to America. We built this cabin together. We lived there together for many happy years until he went hunting one day and did not come back. That is when I went to the Volturi. You know the story from there."

Scarlet looked down at her hands. The story she had told us had unearthed many painful memories.

I ignored my instincts to stay away from the sad girl, and put my hand on hers.

"I am sorry about Joel. He sounded like a very kind person. Did you ever find out what happened to him?"

"Yes." She replied as she looked up with a cold expression on her sad face. "Aro had him killed."

Gasps of horror and surprise came out of every person in the room. No questions needed to be asked. Scarlet continued her explanation for us.

"He knew I would come to them when Joel died. He was hoping I would join him. He did not anticipate that _I_ would read _his_ thoughts when he shook my hand. It took all my self control to keep me from killing him right then." The sadness in her eyes melted away, but it was replaced by pure fury. It only took her a fraction of a second to collect herself, and the blank sadness returned.

"Why didn't you? If he killed Joel then why not get revenge?" I shuddered, thinking of Victoria and her need to kill me as Edward had killed her mate James.

"Caius was in on the plan. Alec and Jane as well. Not all of them were present when I got there, and I wanted to finish them all off at once. I also did not want to hurt the ones that were not responsible. Felix, Marcus, and Demetri did not want to do it, not that they really had a say in the first place with Chelsea around. They did what they had to do and I do not hold it against them." She said Marcus's name, not like she pitied him, but more like they shared a burden. I did not understand it.

Scarlet and the others kept discussing her life and her skills and other things that I only listened to with a small part of my mind. I felt so sorry for the small girl. She had a horrid life before she was rescued by her Joel, but even that was taken away from her. She had only a short time of happiness in her long life. But she was a strong girl. If I had had everything taken away from me, I never would have made it this far. But here she was. She had lived with her loss for over four hundred years.

I was hearing what they were saying in the back of my head until something Carlisle said caught my attention.

"The Volturi have decided to get rid of all of us. We need your help. They have doubled the guard and will not bring witnesses. They will move to Denali to kill our other friends and after that move on to kill everyone we have spoken to in the last decade. You are the only one who can even begin to intimidate the Volturi now."

Everyone looked at Scarlet. It amazed me how such a small creature could decide the fate of so many. This was it. She would decide whether we lived or died.

Scarlet looked down at her hands as if trying to figure out how to convey something important.

"I hope you understand that my skill is not as strong as it seems. It has been exaggerated over the past few centuries. Like everything it has its limits. I can't defeat the Volturi, but I can help make you stronger." Her eyes were open, truthful, warning.

"That's all we ask for." Carlisle nodded.

There was a brief scilence as Scarlet took in the eager faces of those around her.

"I have one condition if you want me to help you." Scarlet said.

"Anything." Carlisle spoke quickly.

Scarlet seemed to take a deep breath before speaking.

"I have been on my own for centuries and I feel really comfortable around you all. You share my… ethical beliefs, and Your way of life is something I have missed for a long time." Scarlet looked around the room to see our reactions. "If you allow, I would love to join your family."


	5. From Stranger to Family

**From Stranger to Family**

There was a long pause as everyone considered Scarlet's proposition. We had certainly not expected this. There were so many things to consider. How would the wolves react to a new vampire (especially one with such a dangerous power) suddenly moving in? Would yet another vampire bring even more attention to the Cullen family? What would I tell Charlie?

Esme was the first to speak up. Her warm, motherly voice rang out clear and confident. "Well, I am always willing to add to the family." I could see the tenderness in Esme's eyes as she smiled at the young vampire.

"It would be nice to have someone around with a sense of fashion." Alice said as she eyed Scarlet's outfit in approval, and then shifted her gaze to my plain ensemble.

"She would give us an advantage." Jasper stated plainly, always considering the military aspect of the situation.

"I say yes." Emmett bellowed. "It would be nice to get a fair fight in once in a while." Of course he would be considering the advantages of fighting without having Edward's gift to help him.

"I have a good feeling about you." Rosalie said calmly. "I wouldn't mind having you around." I was slightly shocked. Rose usually didn't take well to newcomers.

"I would like you to stay with us." Renesmee chimed in with a smile on her angelic face. She took any opportunity to have someone else around to love.

"I'm with her."Jake said begrudgingly, obviously not happy to have another vampire hanging around. Anything for Nessie

"Whatever protects my family." Edward stated as he hugged me close.

I took Scarlet's hand once more before speaking. "If Edward died I wouldn't know what to do." I said softly. "If being with us helps the pain at all then I would be glad to have you with us."

She gently squeezed my hand in a gesture of understanding. I knew the pain of losing Edward far too well, and she knew it.

Everyone looked at Carlisle, waiting for the final vote, the one that really counted.

"Well, I guess it has been decided." He smiled in obvious relief. "Welcome to the family."

A smile spread across Scarlet's face, for the first time touching her eyes. There seemed to be a glint of hope in them for what was probably the first time in hundreds of years.

"Thank you." She beamed. "You don't know what this means to me. I will need time to pack though."

"Of course." Carlisle agreed quickly. "Bella and Edward will help you pack anything you want to take with you. We will get a room ready for you back at the house."

"Thank you Carlisle." Scarlet said.

Renesmee kissed Edward and me goodbye, and then did the same for Scarlet. With that, the rest of my family ran home. Edward and I looked at Scarlet, and prepared to get our orders.

"Edward, Can you get the books, paintings, and music packed up while Bella and I take care of some things outside?"

"Of course." Edward said. He kissed my hair and started packing the CD's into boxes.

"Follow me Bella." Scarlet said. She grabbed my hand and skipped through the door, dragging me behind her.

On the way out the door, she gracefully scooped up the cat and kept skipping to the back where there was a Black Chevy pickup truck waiting. It was an 05 Silverado SS. I was surprised that I could remember. Edward had tried to get me interested in cars one night, and drilled me on the make and model of every car he could think of. We had mostly gone over sports cars, but he did go over some of the faster trucks and vans.

Scarlet skipped to the front of the truck and carefully placed the cat in one of the small back seats.

It was very quiet. I felt awkward just standing there. I needed to fill the silence with something. As she went back to get one of the birdhouses I asked her one of my many questions.

"So, you have a cat?" I asked awkwardly. "Aren't animals usually afraid of vampires?"

"Yes," She laughed. "but most animals don't seem to be too afraid of me. They are still cautious, but Starlight and I have a special bond."

"So what happened?"

"Well," Scarlet Began, "After Joel was killed, I became extremely lonely. I found myself constantly wallowing in self pity and waiting for revenge. I needed a companion, but was still too suspicious of others to join a coven. One day I happened across a trap in the woods and I found Starlight inside. She was almost starved to death and in too much pain to be afraid of me so I quickly brought her home and nursed her back to health. She has stayed with me of her own free will ever since."

I was hesitant to get near the animal, but also extremely curious.

"May I pet her? Or will she not like it?"

Scarlet giggled and it sounded like wind chimes.

"Of course. She is comfortable when I am around. She knows I won't let anything hurt her."

I reached out cautiously to stroke the cat. Its fur was soft, and heat radiated off of it in waves. I could hear her small heart thudding against her chest making the blood flow. It did not shy away from my reach, but did not welcome it as she had with Scarlet. Still, it was nice to be able to pet an animal again. It had been years since I had pet anything other than one of the wolves.

"Why do you keep animals if you drink their blood? Isn't that hard for you?"

"When I learned that my best option was hunting animals, I vowed to myself that I would never hunt domestic animals. I kept thinking that if I somehow came across a dog or a horse or even a cow and I killed it, some child would lose a companion. I try to only drink the blood of deer because they are so common," She answered with a grin, "but since I never leave the area anymore, sometimes I have to take what I get."

"Anymore?" I caught the hidden meaning in what she had said. "I thought you never left the area since you moved here."

Scarlet paused as we were walking back to the house to help Edward.

"When Joel and I used to explore the world looking for other vampires, we would come across mythical creatures, and even places. Whenever we discovered a new creature we would write about it in this."

We had reached the house by then, and Edward was at my side when Scarlet pulled one of the books off of the shelf that was closest to the door.

Scarlet handed me the book. It had a faded brown leather cover. I opened it carefully and looked through it. It had sketches of unicorns, fairies, werewolves, vampires, mermaids, elves, witches, and many other creatures I still thought of as myths. As I got to the back of the book, the theme switched from creatures to places; Atlantis, the city of gold, and the fountain of youth. I was amazed. All these places and creatures people dreamed about were real. I should have guessed.

"When Joel died, I decided to keep logging any creature I came across. It didn't happen very often, but I did discover a few other creatures. I will have to add your shifter friend to the book later. Anyway, after about a hundred years of traveling things became too dangerous for me. Whenever I ran into a coven I was endangering not only myself, but that coven as well. I returned here, where the Volturi would least expect me to be."

I was thinking about this when Scarlet giggled. She saw me look over in curiosity.

"Edward is trying to read my mind, but he's having a hard time." She said to me as she looked at Edward.

Edward had a frustrated look on his face. He looked back at the shelves, and kept packing the books silently.

"How does your power work anyway." I asked. I had been wondering about it for a while now.

She stopped what she was doing for a moment. She looked like she was trying to figure out how to word something. She started playing with her hair. This seemed to be something she did when she was uncomfortable, nervous, or thinking too hard.

"The best way to describe it is like molding clay. It is already molded into a certain form, but I am able to edit it, lend it to someone else, or take it for myself. I can do this to multiple skills at a time and use it on multiple people at a time, but if there are too many I get tired. It is not a kind of illusion or something where I just send signals to the brain. It is more mentally tiring, like trying to juggle several objects of different sizes at once. It is not physically hard, but it is hard mentally. It takes practice, and I am still not very good at it."

"Has anyone been able to stop your skill." I was extremely curious now.

"Not yet." Scarlet laughed. "I have been lucky so far. Hopefully I would know if they could when they entered my perimeter and then I would have time to escape."

"What is your perimeter?" Edward asked. He sounded more interrogative than curious.

"About a mile." Scarlet shrugged. "It would give me a good chance to escape first."

Edward nodded. I could see him "taking notes" on our conversation. Making sure he got anything of the least importance memorized. He had started packing the books into boxes. I went to help him. I reached for the next book on the shelf and pulled out a book by Shakespeare.

The book was old. Probably a little less than four hundred years old. The aged brown cover had no designs except for the word _Hamlet_ scrawled across the center. Out of curiosity, I opened the book. On the inside was a note.

It said _Dearest Scarlet, I wish you peace and happiness all your days._

_ ~Mr. Shakespeare_

I looked at Scarlet in shock.

"You knew Shakespeare!"

I was not the only one who was mystified. Edward's jaw had also dropped as he read over my shoulder.

"He was a family friend." Scarlet answered simply as she packed.

As I put the book carefully in the box, I thought about all the things this girl must have done or seen in her lifetime. All the stories she must have to tell. I could question her forever, but that would not get anything done. I tried to concentrate on packing, even when I came across an undiscovered Mozart piece, or an original De Gas.

There was little chatting as we packed. I stopped now and then to ask Scarlet questions about her adventures, but quickly returned to my work after I got an answer. I asked a couple questions about Joel, but after seeing the sad look in her eyes whenever she had to answer them, I stopped.

I got a text from Renesmee that had a picture attached of a butterfly that had landed on Jake's ear. I showed it to Edward who smiled at Jacob's obvious confusion in the moment.

This led to an onslaught of questions from Scarlet. What was Forks like? Did we get along with the humans at the high school? How was the hunting in the area? What were Carlisle and Esme like? What did we do together?

When everything was packed up, and the last boxes were ready to be taken out to the truck, Scarlet stood quietly in the empty room.

"I will be out shortly." She said quietly.

Edward and I left her alone, and took the last boxes to the trailer. We held hands as we walked in silence.

"I can't imagine what she is going through right now." I sighed as I broke the silence. "Leaving almost every memory of Joel behind. I would do everything I could to hold on to your memory. I wonder how she got through the first hundred years?"

Edward looked at my face, and gently took it in both of his hands. "I don't know how she went through the first minute. I would have followed after you as soon as I could."

I shuddered at the murky memory of that dreadful day in Volterra, Italy. Edward was on the brink of suicide after Rose told him I was dead. It was not her fault. I was the one who jumped off the damn cliff in the first place. It had been for recreational purposes of course, but Alice had not known that. Well, that was my excuse. Only Edward knew about the hallucinations I had chased during that painful time.

I dropped my boxes and hugged Edward close. I turned my head so I could touch his lips to mine. I only did this briefly; If I kissed him for too long I would forget everything.

Still, his sweet breath, and his soft lips moving with mine had me dizzy in no time.

"We better get the boxes to the truck." Edward said as he smiled at me with my favorite crooked smile, and brushed my cheek with his hand as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Boxes?" I asked, still dazed.

A throaty chuckle escaped his perfect lips before he picked up his boxes. I followed his example, and we started back towards the truck.

We sat together in the front of the truck waiting for Scarlet to say her goodbyes. We had agreed that Edward would drive. I sat in the middle so I could hold Edwards hand without Scarlet seeing, afraid this would cause her unnecessary pain. We waited for two minutes until Scarlet turned the corner of the house. She got in the truck quickly and quietly, and sat in the seat next to me.

Edward started down the overgrown, bumpy path that faintly led the way out of the clearing. I could see Scarlet watching the small cottage disappear as Edward drove further down the drive. I could see the sadness and loss in her eyes. I involuntarily took her hand in mine. She looked at me with grateful eyes. I could tell we would become really close the next few weeks.

The drive was long and silent. Edward drove as fast as he could without harming the items in the back of the truck. There was little chatter as calming classical music floated from the expensive new stereo that had been installed in the already new truck.

Scarlet fiddled with something around her neck. There was a silver chain, that was partially tucked into the collar of her dress. At the end of the chain was a silver heart locket. The outside of the heart was carved with intricate leafy designs. In the center of the locket was an inscription carved in a delicate script.

Our love will last

Forever and a Day

It was rather large for a locket, and much rounder. The shape reminded me of a walnut shell.

May I?" I asked as I held my hand out for the locket, and Scarlet unhooked the clasp, and carefully placed the locket in my hand.

I gently opened it. When I did, sweet music floated out. I knew the melody. It was Scarborough Fair, one of my favorite folk songs. On the inside of the lid was a little cylinder with small spikes surrounded by gears and other microscopic spinning objects. Together they created a tiny music box inside the necklace.

On the other side of the cover was a portrait of two people. One was a small, elegant girl with pale cream skin, deep blue eyes, and bright red lips. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a twist with small curls falling from the sides of her face. She was rosy cheeked, and smiling brightly at the man next to her. The man was a tall, pale young man with dark brown hair, and bright crimson eyes. He was handsome, even though the painting could not begin to capture his beauty. He was the image of a perfect marble statue. He smiled back down at the girl who looked so small in comparison.

"We had the portrait done just before I got sick." Scarlet sighed as she caught me with my jaw dropped in wonder. I had to quickly remember how to close it.

Scarlet took the locket from me, and gazed at the picture for a long moment. She stroked the face of the boy gently with her finger before closing the locket. The music faded, and Scarlet put the necklace back on her neck in one swift movement.

The ride home continued silently. We drove as fast as the truck would go. With Edwards impeccable driving we had no reason to worry about the items in the back. We only slowed down when a cop drove by.

We arrived home at twilight. Carlisle and Esme were waiting in the driveway. When we stopped the car, Carlisle started to help unpack the truck. Esme walked towards the car, and the rest of us got out to greet her.

Esme embraced Edward and me before giving Scarlet an equally welcoming hug.

"Welcome home." She said cheerfully. "We got Edward's old room ready for you since he doesn't use it anymore. We hope you like it."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. It has been centuries since I have been part of a real family." Scarlet smiled.

I could hear an unfamiliar car coming up the driveway. It was coming fast too. Edward, Esme, and Carlisle were smiling while Scarlet and I stood there bewildered.

A minute later, a sleek black sports car skidded to a stop in front of us. I remembered this car from the Edward car quiz; a Lamborghini Murcielago. It was supposed to be _really_ fast and dangerous for the ignorant human. The perfect car for a vampire.

Emmett and Jasper got out of the car laughing and playfully shoving each other.

"Sorry we're late." Jasper said between bursts of laughter.

"Well, that was a rush." Emmett bellowed.

"Nice car." Scarlet complimented them as she stroked the hood. "Which one of you does it belong to?" she asked without looking away.

Carlisle and Esme grinned wider.

"It is yours now." Esme spoke up. "No one here goes without some kind of car unless they don't want one."

"Unless you are forced to have one." I mumbled under my breath. Edward chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"We thought it would be a nice welcoming gift." Carlisle smiled as he pulled Esme into his side.

Scarlet's eyes bulged as she stared at us in excitement. When she got over the shock, she ran to hug her new mom and dad. You could see the younger side of her coming to life.

"Thank you all so much. You don't know how welcome this makes me feel."

"Mom! Dad!"

I knew that familiar greeting, and I let Renesmee to run into my arms. She gave me a big hug and nuzzled her face in my hair. I hugged her back and smelled her sweet scent.

"Hello Aunt Scarlet."

I was a little shocked at the title, but I guess she was my sister now that she had joined the family.

I smiled at my new adopted sister, and let Renesmee go.

"Let's all help Aunt Scarlet unpack. Why don't you get the others to help?"

Renesmee ran into the house to get the others.

Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Scarlet and I got most of the boxes unloaded by the time Alice and Rose got done playing with the cat.

"I have not been able to pet an animal for almost a hundred years." Alice sang as Starlight jumped for the ribbon in her hand.

"I always loved cats." Rose crooned as she stroked the sleek black animal.

Esme laughed and scolded them gently. "Get back to work girls."

They put the cat down, and started taking the boxes up to the room. Scarlet picked up Starlight, and when the boxes were upstairs , Scarlet and I took her to Edwards old room to unpack.

I did not want to mess up the order of any of the books or CD's, so I handed them to Scarlet and she put them on the shelves. There were both old and new books. The oldest was the book signed by Shakespeare, and the most recent one was a vampire novel- go figure. The CD's had music that had been composed hundreds of years ago to current as well. I unpacked a couple paintings too.

When we were mostly finished, we took a break to play with Starlight who was seeking Scarlet's attention. For the most part the room looked the same. The bed with the iron flowers that Edward had gotten me was still there, and the shelves were still lined with CD's and books. Now it had paintings on the walls, and on the bed was a silver mirror and brush set that Scarlet said had belonged to her mother.

Renesmee had followed us into the room, and was looking at all the books on the shelf by the bed.

"What is this?" she asked as she held out the brown book of mythical creatures that Scarlet had shown me earlier.

"That is a book full of all the adventures I had," Scarlet replied.

"May I read it?" Renesmee pleaded.

"I will do better than that." Scarlet answered. "I will tell you one story in there every night before you go home. How does that sound?"

Renesmee hugged her aunt and ran out of the room to tell Jake.

"She has the mind of a scholar and the curiosity of a child." Scarlet told me as Renesmee left. "How old is she?"

"She will be six in a few months." I answered.

"She looks a little older than that!" Scarlet stated with her eyes bulging.

I laughed. "One of the traits of Vampire hybrids." I explained. "Rapid growth."

"That's right," Scarlet said "she's only part human. I was quite confused when I first saw her. You will have to explain it all to me sometime."

I forgot that we had not told her about Nessie. She obviously knew a little, but we would have to tell her the story later.

"Hey Jake." A voice rang out from downstairs. It had to be Seth Clearwater. He was one of the only pack members who enjoyed visiting the house anymore. He did not mind being around vampires like the rest of them. Quil and Embry visited often. They still liked me as a person, but they were still having a hard time with the "no vampire" instinct.

"We heard a new vampire moved in and they sent me to check everything out. How's it goin'?"

"She's unpacking." Jake replied.

"Well, Sam and the others want me to officially welcome her. I guess I am the official vampire welcome wagon from now on."

"At least it's a welcome wagon and not an ambush. I think they're all getting used to having vampires around."

"I guess I should go downstairs." Scarlet said as she got up and headed out the door.

I followed her down the steps and into the living room where Seth and Jake were both chatting.

Jake looked over Seth's shoulder and saw Scarlet.

"Seth, this is Scarlet, the newest member of the Cullen family. Scarlet, this is Seth."

Seth turned around to shake her hand and froze when he saw her face. Scarlet froze too. They were staring at each other with a look I had never seen before.

At first I thought something was wrong. Then, I took a second look at Seth. His eyes were wide in wonder, not fear. He was frozen by amazement, not horror.

He looked like a blind man who had just seen the sun for the very first time.


	6. Unexpected Imprint

**Unexpected Imprint**

"No way." I mumbled.

"Oh man." Jake muttered.

"Is that even possible?" Edward asked.

"Well, it is now." Emmett laughed.

"Well, this is awkward." Rosalie groaned.

"It is very interesting indeed." Carlisle commented.

Esme and Alice just stood there with shock frozen on their faces. Jasper was surprised to, but more composed, taking in the mix of emotions in the room.

The muttering stopped as we saw Seth and Scarlet staring into each other's eyes. Scarlet looked confused at first by Seth's obvious ogling, but she either read his mind, or knew from the way Jake had acted around Nessie before. The confusion changed to understanding, and she smiled shyly back at him.

It grew silent, and an awkward feeling spread across the room. Alice was the first to break the scilence.

"Well Seth, since you will obviously be here for a while you can help Scarlet unpack."

She grabbed Scarlet's arm and drug her back to her room with Seth following close behind.

The walk up the steps was not silent, but just as awkward. Alice talked the entire time. It would have not been that bad, except she went at a slow human pace for Seth's benefit.

"I really do hope you like your room. I was going to do some work on it before you came but Esme wouldn't let me. She said the closet was already big enough and you could pick out your own sheets and a new carpet if you really wanted. I did get to stock your closet, though I'm sure you brought a good amount of clothes with you. That dress is so cute by the way."

The chatter continued, but Seth and Scarlet seemed to ignore her.

"Oh. We ordered a cat tree for Starlight, and a bed too. They should be here tomorrow. I picked them out myself. They are really cute, and they really go with the room. They even match the bed.

"Speaking of matching, that reminds me there were some really cute cat accessories that I found online. There was this cute little dish, and I figured she would want some toys. There were also a couple cat outfits I got but I didn't know if she would like them or not. Don't tell Esme by the way."

The poor girl could not get a word in. Not that she wanted to. Seth and Scarlet just kept staring at each other like they had never seen another person before in their lives. The clear love and devotion radiating from Seth obviously had an effect on Scarlet.

When we got back to the room, Alice finally grew quiet. I followed her over to the boxes, and we took our time unpacking more books and CD's. Seth and Scarlet were on the other side of the room petting the cat and chatting.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"I wish I knew." Alice replied as she rubbed her temples. "Ug! Vampires are not supposed to get headaches! Werewolves, and vampire hybrids, and imprinting…"

"Oh my." I muttered in response.

Alice smiled at me lightly and sighed. If only I could see past all the clu…" She was cut off when a flood of calm rushed through her. "Scarlet, you are amazing." She sighed in relief.

"You're welcome." She laughed. "Just tell me any time you need me to clear the way." She smiled, and turned to explain what she just did to Seth.

We could hear Seth telling Scarlet all about Imprinting, feeling the heat in the air as he blushed, and Scarlet told him her history in return. Seth did not seem to mind that she had been married to Joel, and neither of them seemed to mind the smell.

The pair started out awkward. They kept their distance and avoided contact. Slowly they began to relax, and eventually Seth took Scarlet's hand in his. Their fingers were intertwined and they never left each other's gaze.

What shocked me was Scarlet. She looked…happy. Really happy. It was like she imprinted on him too, or at least had someone in her life that she could love. Love, a feeling she had not truly felt for hundreds of years, was making itself known again.

"So you really don't care that I…. imprinted on you?" Seth asked. "You're not mad, or annoyed, or disgusted?"

"No." Scarlet mouthed.

"And you don't mind the smell?"

"No."

"Why?" Seth asked, puzzled. "I mean, you got imprinted on by your natural enemy, and you don't care?"

Scarlet took Seth's huge hand in both of hers, and looked into his eyes.

"I have been waiting four hundred years for someone to take the pain away, and you have done that in just one moment. I will be grateful to you for that for the rest of my existence."

They gazed into each others' eyes for a long moment before Scarlet spoke again.

"And you? You don't mind that you imprinted on a vampire?"

"Nope." he mouthed. "I like vampires."

"But, a previously _married_ vampire?"

Seth shrugged. "The past is the past. I can't do anything to change that. Besides, you are more important than anything."

They sat quietly, gazing into each other's eyes, until Seth broke the scilence.

"What was Joel like?" He asked timidly. "I mean, was he…you know…good looking? I mean, of course he was good looking. He was a vampire, but… you know…"

Scarlet giggled. The sound was like a sweet melody. She patted his hand gently with her left hand, and with her right, unclasped the locket from around her neck.

"I know it is probably not very close to how he really looked," She said as the sweet song floated from the open heart, "but this is the only picture of him that I have."

Scarlet handed the necklace to Seth. The heart that had looked so large on the girl looked so small in Seth's enormous hand.

Seth's forehead creased in thought as he looked at the picture in the necklace.

"What's wrong?" Scarlet asked concerned.

"Nothing." Seth chuckled

"Jealous Seth?" Emmett laughed as he walked by the room.

Seth rolled his eyes and looked back to the locket.

"Is that you when you were human?" He asked as he gave the locket back to Scarlet.

"Yes."She smiled at him warmly. Seth returned her smile, and held her hand up to his face. Her pale hand in his made her look even whiter. The contrast was amazing.

"It's not polite to stare, Bella." Alice giggled next to me as she continued to unpack.

I quickly turned my head, and went back to my work. If I had been able to blush, I would have been a bright shade of red. I did not like getting caught eavesdropping. Especially on conversations like this one.

I concentrated on unpacking clothing. Taking it out, folding, sorting. Anything to keep me busy. I worked slowly. I would fold every article of clothing perfectly, and then sort it by use, then season, then color.

I was slightly confused by how fast things had progressed. Scarlet could not be in love. Just like that? Maybe it was possible. She had been aching for love for so many years, and now Scarlet was Seth's first priority. Still, it looked like more than that. Scarlet had been altered by Seth's clear devotion, and once a vampire is changed there is no going back.

Thankfully, there was a knock on the door frame, and we looked up to see Emmett standing with Rose and Edward.

"Looks like you have a new pet." Emmett chuckled as he walked in.

Seth laughed and Scarlet looked away, and started playing with a dark brown strand of her hair. She looked like she would be blushing bright red if she could. I never thought of her a shy.

"Carlisle and Esme are downstairs talking to Jacob." Edward spoke as he went to sit next to me. "They are trying to come up with some logical explanation for the….incident. Jacob called Leah and asked her to come over to hear her theories."

I winced at the name of my new stepsister. Even though she was my sister now, Leah and I were not on the best of terms. I had tried to be nice to her and help her out when I could, but she never seemed to acknowledge me. At least in a friendly way. She had no problem when she was mad at me. I would at least get a glare. She still blamed me for hurting Jake even though he was happy now. It had been getting better, but we tried to avoid each other as much as possible.

Edward saw my reaction and smiled. "Carlisle does want to hear your opinions too since Scarlet has opened up to you the most. After that you can go back to helping her unpack."

I buried my head in his chest, and he rubbed my arm. I could tell he was smiling, and possibly laughing at my reaction. It was probably silly of me to be so immature about it, but Leah brought it on herself.

Jake stood up for Leah whenever I mentioned her rude manners, not just to me, but to everyone else too. He had explained it to me long ago. I could not blame her for trying to force the sadness and anger she felt from loosing Sam on everyone else, but Sam and Emily were happily married now with little Sam Jr. and baby Lucy. It was time for her to move on.

I could hear the heartbeats of Renesmee and Jacob downstairs. I listened harder so I could clearly hear their conversation.

"I just can't think of why this might have happened." I heard Carlisle say. "It makes no sense for a werewolf to imprint on a vampire." He sounded unnaturally frustrated.

"Well Seth has always been strange when it comes to vampires." I heard Jake laugh. "He doesn't mind them at all. He thinks of them as people."

I lifted my head to look at Scarlet. She was petting Starlight with her right hand, and holding Seth's hand with the other.

I stopped breathing. I wonder…

Edward tensed as soon as I froze. "Bella? What's wrong?"

"Seth, Scarlet." I called as I stood up. "Come with me."

I did not even look behind me to see if they had decided to follow. I ran downstairs to where Carlisle and Jacob were talking. I heard Edward, Seth, and Scarlet close behind.

"Carlisle." I said, interrupting Carlisle in the middle of a sentence. "I think I know why Seth imprinted on Scarlet."

We could hear the sound of someone quickly approaching the house. When they got closer I could hear the beating heart of a large wolf. A few yards away from the house, the sound changed. The pace was closer to a human as well as the heartbeat. Leah walked in before I could get any further in the conversation.

"What did I miss?" she asked somewhat passively.

"Bella has an idea about what allowed the imprint to take place." Carlisle said quickly, and turned back to me. He nodded, motioning for me to proceed.

"Well," I began. "When Jake mentioned that Seth was odd because he did not mind being around vampires it reminded me of something. I remembered how Scarlet is able to have a relationship with Starlight, and animal vampire interactions just don't happen.

"I think that the odd part of each of them make them compatible. Seth likes vampires and Scarlet likes animals."

"I think I have something to add to that." Leah spoke up with a smile. "I have concluded that I am a genetic dead end when it comes to passing down the ability to become a werewolf. That is why I can become a wolf. Now, if I'm a dead end, then Seth could be a dead end too. Maybe he imprinted on a bloo- a vampire to keep from passing on a bad gene." Leah corrected herself when she saw Jacob's warning glance. You could see she hated being polite to vampires.

Scarlet giggled as she heard the word Leah was about to use. "Is bloodsucker a common term among werewolves?"

"Yeah." Leah said with annoyance. "So are leech and parasite. Which do you prefer?"

Jacob looked completely embarrassed by Leah's rudeness towards Scarlet.

Scarlet took no notice of Leah's attitude, and instead, extended her hand. "I prefer Scarlet."

Leah did not return the greeting, and instead turned away.

"Scarlet," I started to break the awkward silence. "This is my stepsister Leah."

"So you are Seth's sister." Scarlet's question came out as a statement.

"Until I disown him for imprinting on a leach." She replied coldly.

I could see the conversation was getting nowhere, so I decided to try a different approach. This could not be the only reason Leah came. I knew her better than that.

"So Leah, I know you would not come here just for this, so was there another reason you came down here, or did Jake make you?" I saw Jacob silently chuckling at my rather obvious observation.

Leah looked up in surprise. " Actually, there is." She muttered before her almost permanent grimace returned. "The council is considering letting Charlie take my dad's place on the council with my mom. They think since he is so central to everything going on he should be clued in. He has a vampire for a daughter and two werewolves for stepchildren. He needs to know."

As Leah spoke I felt myself freeze. They couldn't tell him! I wouldn't let them! I tried to speak, but the words would not come.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Edward spoke up.

I turned my head to look at him. I did not know what the expression was on my face, but Edward laughed.

"If Charlie is on the council, then he will be able to know everything without the Volturi having an excuse to punish him for it." He comforted me. "He deserves to know. He is surrounded by everything and he doesn't even know it."

"But you know how he reacted when he found out about Jake." I argued. "What the _hell_ do you think he will do when he finds out I am a _vampire_. He'll never look at me the same! Not to mention the fact that he knows I have know about this since I got to Forks!"

"He took it _very well_ when he found out a family friend was a werewolf." Edward comforted me, ignoring my outburst. "You are his _daughter_. Besides," He said as he rubbed my back with his hand. "you had the same reaction when we decided to let Renée in on the need to know, and see how well everything turned out?"

I sighed, and leaned my head against Edwards chest in surrender. There was nothing I could do.

"Fine." I mumbled. "But, I _will_ be there when you tell him the stories, and DON'T use the term 'Vampire'."

"The next meeting won't be for a while." Leah informed me. "Probably two or three weeks. It might be longer. We will need to talk about letting a vampire on the reservation."

I took a deep breath.

"I _will_ be there." I said slowly as my eyes narrowed.

"I'll talk to the council." Leah said again.

I had a month to prepare for Charlie's reaction. I would think positive. Three weeks. The farther away the better. It seemed like everything was hitting at once.

I took another deep breath.

"Let's finish unpacking the damn boxes." I moaned as I tugged Edward up the stairs. Scarlet and Seth followed us at a slower pace.

My worries soon drifted away as everyone cheerfully helped the newcomer settle down. We all moved at a slow, human pace. The atmosphere in the once sullen house had changed. Everyone was really happy. All the joy seemed to be centered around Scarlet. She had brought them hope.

Everyone was counting on this small girl to save us all, but I knew by the look on her face that even she did not trust herself completely, though she covered it up the best she could. I could not put all my faith in the small girl. I would not let my guard down. Complete faith was a luxury that I could not afford. I trusted the girl, but not fully. I would not endanger my family that way. I would not let my guard down.

As the day went on, Scarlet showed us things from her past. There was an Ancient Egyptian necklace that had been given to them by a coven of vampires that had been hiding in a tomb in Egypt. She had a vase from India, that had been given to one of their great rulers long ago. There was a small statue from China, and a fan from France. Before we left, Scarlet told Renesmee a story about her adventure with Joel to the Mayan City of Gold that had been hidden for centuries from the rest of the world.

When Renesmee began to doze off on Jake's shoulder, Edward and I decided it was time to go home. We said our goodbyes, and started the peaceful walk home to our little cottage.

We watched as the sky changed the world around us from pink to a deep purple. The creatures hid as we walked by, and cowered in the shadows. The sound of the river faded behind us, but only slightly. The peaceful sound made Nessie yawn, her full lips forming a small "o" like they did when she was little. By the time we reached our purple tinted cottage, she was half asleep.

Edward picked her up in his arms like did when she was little, and carried her through the door and into her room, where he laid her gently on her soft bed.

Edward and I stood there by her bed for a while, watching her sleep. I knelt down and pressed the palm of her hand to my face. I saw her colorful dreams with the faces of loved ones appearing every now and then between the fluttering shapes and colors. She was dreaming sweet dreams for now. Edward and I kissed Nessie goodnight before going to our room.

The light from the full moon shone down upon us, illuminating the entire room. It was not like we needed the light. I could see everything in the purple haze of the night. Edward looked so wonderful as the moonlight glinted off his marble skin.

I could not believe I was so lucky. Every day I reminded myself how I got this amazing life. My husband, my child sleeping peacefully in the other room, an entire family who promised to love me and protect me for forever. I was the shield, the protector of the family, but would that be enough? I hoped desperately that with the help of Scarlet I could return the favor as I had once before.

Later that night, just before dawn, Edward and I heard Renesmee stirring in her room.

"The dream." I whispered, and ran to her room, with Edward close behind.

When we reached the room, Renesmee was sitting up in bed. She had a peaceful smile on her face, and she did not seem scared at all.

She looked at us as we stood in the doorway and smiled bigger than before.

I hesitated, but crossed the room to her bed so I could sit with her. Edward knelt on the floor by her feet.

"Did you have the dream?" Edward asked hesitantly.

Renesmee thought for a second before answering.

"Yes," she paused and thought again, " but it was different this time."

"How?" I asked calmly as I put my hand on her shoulder.

I waited for her to speak, but she shook her head, and placed the palm of her hand on my cheek.

The dream started the same. The dark figures, the crystal girl, the heart in the hand of the tall cloaked person.

Then it changed. Figures cloaked in white swooped in towards the evil shadow people from all directions, and in a burst of flame the dark figures were gone. The white people knelt around the crystal child, and grabbed the heart that was now lying on the ground. They put it into the figure, and when they did, the crystal girl became a white figure like the rest of them.

The image became one of joy instead of sorrow, and it faded away as quickly as it came.

Nessie lifted her hand from my cheek and smiled. I smiled back at her in relief, and so did Edward. We had seen the end of the nightmares that had plagued our daughter at night. We knew that we would not be bothered by the dream again.

We kissed Renesmee on the cheek, and watched from the doorway as she fell back asleep, not afraid anymore.

Hope had arrived.

* * *

A/N I am getting towards that part of the story that needs a lot of editing and two chapters of so from now I get to the stuff that has not even been written yet so it will take a loooooooong time to get stuff out between chapters. Thanks for sticking with me. Please Review. I love feedback and to hear what you liked or did not like so i can know for the future.

~Twily


	7. Introductions

**Introductions**

Scarlet had changed drastically since we had first met her. She had a spring in her step, and her eyes were no longer sad. Her whole expression was one of pure happiness. She and Seth walked around the house holding hands, and gazing into each other's eyes. It reminded me of another odd couple that used to roam the halls of Forks High School with the same look in their eyes. If they were feeling even close to the way we had felt, then I was happy for them.

Still, we had to get their heads out of the clouds and back to earth. The other covens would be coming any day now and we had to be prepared. Carlisle had arranged a "vacation" so we could get out of school for a while. We never specified how long we would be gone, and the school did not care. We were all perfect students, and they trusted we would make up the work eventually, but that was the last thing on our minds.

Tanya had told us that she planned to gather them all at her house and bring them here later. This would make introducing Scarlet to the covens easier. Tanya had also said that she knew some other clans that she would invite. It would be fun to meet them. There were three clans that she had mentioned; the Australian coven, the Soviet coven, and the German coven.

I was very interested in how everyone would react to Scarlet. Apparently she was a myth to most vampires. Out of all of them Eleazar might know of her existence.

With everything going on the council at La Push had decided it was time to tell Charlie about everything. Well, almost everything. We came to a compromise, and agreed that the Cullens would be referred to as "the Cold Ones" instead of vampires. I love my dad, and I didn't want to lose him now, and I don't think he would have been able take it. They told him the legends of the tribe, and Scarlet got permission to go over and meet Charlie. I can't say he was thrilled when he saw that she looked like the rest of us.

We told Charlie that we were having some guests over, and he guessed right away what was going on. The council had told him there would be a battle with the Cold Ones or something, so that gave it all away.

We were all getting ready for our guests to arrive. Carlisle had not told Tanya about Scarlet, so while the rest of us got ready, Scarlet, Seth, Carlisle, and Edward discussed the best way to introduce her to the others.

"Why not just come out with it?" Seth asked Carlisle. "She is one of you, so what is the problem?"

"She may be one of us, but she is the most powerful one of us in the world." Carlisle explained to them. "She is supposed to be a myth. It would come as a shock to them, and she may seem threatening. Remember what it was like when we were approaching her house?"

"Especially with the new covens coming." Edward added. "They don't know us, and here we are presenting them with this."

"I agree." Scarlet spoke up. "You should tell them all before introducing me. Carlisle will tell them his story, and then I will come out and meet them."

"As long as you think it is safe." Seth said as he took Scarlet's hand in his.

"Would you love birds help out!" Alice joked. "They will be here any minute."

Seth's russet skin darkened a shade. They quickly started rearranging the furniture and getting things set up for the guests.

"Seth. Jacob." Alice called. "Go sit in the corner with Nessie. I want to know when they are coming."

They all obeyed willingly, and sat on the chairs that had been placed there for them. Three had been reserved for Jake, Seth, and Sam. They would be representing the packs, but Edward thought it might be best if they were to keep their distance from the new guests. Renesmee sat in Sam's chair for the time being.

Alice was concentrating hard. Sam must have been on his way. She was in and out constantly.

"Tanya will be here first with the German, Soviet, and Australian covens close behind her. They did not want to come all at once. Being inconspicuous, not drawing attention blah blah blah. Benjamin and Tia will follow, but Amun and Kebi refused to come. Huilen and Nahuel will be coming with the Amazons. The Irish Coven will be there shortly after. They found Stefan and Vladimir who will be coming with Peter and Charlotte. Tanya even got Maria. Alistair refused to come, and they could not reach Mary or Randall."

Carlisle looked disappointed, but not surprised when he heard about Alistair. We had known it was a long shot to ask for his assistance now, but we had had to try.

"Do you know what time?" Jasper questioned as he hustled around with the others.

"Ten or fifteen minutes." Alice announced as Sam walked in the door.

He came in silently. He had been briefed on what to do and expect. He and Renesmee traded chairs, and he sat down without a word.

Nessie went to stand next to Jacob, and laid her hand on his shoulder. Jake patted it comfortingly. He knew that she hated being sent to the corner when Alice was trying to see things. It made her feel useless. Like she could not do anything to help but stay out of the way. Jake would like nothing more than to not be involved with the huge group of vampires that would be here any second.

I could hear four cars approaching the entrance to the driveway. They were fairly close together, but not close enough to get anyone suspicious.

"They're coming!" Edward called. "Scarlet, you can wait around the corner."

Seth got up from his chair obviously uncomfortable with the idea of Scarlet out of his sight. Scarlet took Seth's hand with a smile and led him around the corner with her.

"Everyone knows what to do, right?" Alice checked.

Everyone nodded silently as the cars approached and new ones came into range.

Everyone was still as the cars were parked and the first guests walked up the stairs and to the door. No one moved until Tanya knocked on the door, and even then, they moved slowly to greet them. Renesmee was the first to say hello to everyone.

Tanya entered first, with her strawberry blonde hair shining as she moved to hug us one by one.

"Hello everyone." She greeted us in a less than cheerful manner. They all knew about the Volturi, and this was a less than happy assembly. Kate and Garret followed Tanya's example, greeting everyone in a rather silent manner before taking a seat in the circle of chairs that had been assembled.

I could hear Carmen and Eleazar outside with a large group of unfamiliar people. They had to be the new covens.

As they talked, Benjamin and Tia came in, and greeted us in a similar way. They were followed by Huilen and Nahuel, who seemed rather comfortable considering the situation. I knew they were there, because from the moment they stepped through the door I felt Nahuel's intense gaze on my back. Nessie waved to him politely, and he smiled back at her. Jacob did not seem to like that very much.

"We are sorry that Amun and Kebi did not come." Benjamin apologized to Carlisle.

"I understand completely." Carlisle assured them. "I would not force this upon them."

Kachiri, Senna, and Zafrina walked in soon after, hand in hand. Upon sight Renesmee rushed to Zafrina to greet her.

"My child," Zafrina greeted her, "how you have grown."

They held hands and traded memories of the past when a similar trouble had risen, and we had joined forces once before.

When Siobhan entered she went straight to Carlisle to greet him.

"My friend," she said, "I know now for sure I do not possess the power of wishful thinking, for I had hoped this day would never have to come."

Carlisle smiled slightly. "Maybe you just have to wish harder."

Maggie and Liam were right behind Siobhan, and joined everyone else in the circle.

"So we have another chance at the destruction of the Volturi." a familiar voice exclaimed in a rather cheerful manner.

Stefan and Vladimir had heard the news and volunteered their services immediately. They were not favorites among the group, but we would need all the help we could get.

Peter and Charlotte greeted Jasper as soon as they came in. Though the pale blonde and his identical mate seemed to be on good terms with jasper, there always seemed to be a slight rift between them.

They were followed by Maria, Jasper's creator, and you could feel the tension between them. I had not met Maria before, but I already felt uneasy around her. She radiated a violence that was apparently common in the south where a never ending war ensued. It seemed to be made more obvious through her long jet black hair and slight olive skin tone, though she was smaller than I thought.

Looking at him now, I could see the effects of the gloomy atmosphere on Jasper. He looked so sad. Alice was next to him with his hand in hers, sending off waves of love and comfort that did not seem to help much. Soon enough, everyone started acting a little happier, and the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach went away. Jasper too, sighed in relief. Scarlet was probably working her magic, because sadness and panic this strong had to be hard to diminish.

There were still the groups outside with Eleazar and Carmen. They spoke until the last of our old friends came in. Eleazar was the first to enter, with Carmen and the covens close behind.

"Hello my old friend." Carlisle greeted him. "I wish we could meet under better circumstances."

"As do I." Eleazar replied.

Carlisle looked to Carmen. "Thank you for bringing everyone here."

"It was the least we could do." Carmen replied. "As I told you before, we brought along some friends of ours that agreed to help."

As she spoke, a group of four stepped forward. They were all beautiful, with dark hair and bright red eyes. Three were male, all with dark hair, and all muscular. Two had dark brown hair, one straight and the other curly. The straight haired man was very tall. Almost as tall as Jacob. The other straight haired man had hair that was so black it looked like a raven's wing. He was holding the hand of a woman with stick straight black hair that matched his. The contrast with her fair skin made her look like a ghost.

"I am Anton." Said the man with the black hair, his accent strong. He seemed to be their leader. "This is Filipp and Maxim." He said as he motioned to the straight haired man, and then the curly haired man. "This is my mate Diana." He said as he patted the hand of the woman. "We are the Soviet Coven."

"We have heard many great things about your family, and would be honored to fight for it." Diana spoke up.

"We thank you for your help." Esme said as she went to stand with Carlisle.

"They are Soviet's?" I whispered to Edward. Not that politics meant much under present circumstances, but this did bother me a little. Like most people in America, I was taught to cringe at the thought of communism.

"It merely refers to the era they were changed." Edward explained. "They were all changed around 1922 when the Soviet union was first founded."

"Anton has a gift that may be of use to you." Tanya spoke up.

"It is used in two ways." Anton elaborated. "I can see through anything, or see nothing except what I am looking for. Whatever works best under the circumstances."

"That would be most helpful." Carlisle thanked him.

They joined the others in the seats silently after Anton spoke. None of the others so much as nodded their heads.

Another group came forward. In this group there were two male and two female vampires. The first man was slender with straight brown hair, and a kind face. He wore a smile that seemed out of place in the otherwise gloomy environment. He stood very close to one of the girls who also had straight brown hair. They stood so close that their shoulders touched.

The second man was young with short spiky brown hair, and looked so fierce, that I moved closer to Edward as he approached. Holding his arm was the second girl. She was also young, with curly blonde hair and a kind smile that reminded me of Esme in some ways.

"Arminius of the German coven at your service." Said the straight haired man as he bowed politely to Carlisle. "But please, call me Armin." He glanced up and winked at Renesmee, who was giggling at the display. He seemed to have an attitude similar to Emmett. He seemed cheerful and carefree, especially considering the situation.

"You must excuse him." The woman nest to him said as she nudged his side. "I am Brigitta, Armin's wife." She stated as she extended her hand to Esme. "Everyone just calls me Bridget."

"It is wonderful to meet you both." Esme greeted her cheerfully as she accepted Bridget's hand.

The blonde girl stepped up to Carlisle, leaving her mate behind.

"I am Juliet." The girl stated simply. "This is my mate Amos."

She motioned to the statue that was the man with the spiky hair. Something about him reminded me of Alice. Probably the way his hair shot out in every direction.

When he did not step forward, Juliet turned back to Carlisle.

"You must forgive him." She said. "He has trouble trusting new people. He was taken to a Jewish concentration camp when he was human. He was tortured and almost gassed to death when Armin found him."

"That's horrible." I gasped.

Amos stepped forward. He looked at me and smiled.

"You must be the shield everyone has been talking about." He finally spoke. "I too have a gift that may be of some use. It is similar to this Jane person's gift. When I was… dying, I was concentrating so hard on making those who were killing me go through what I was going through that it became my gift."

"So you… gas people?" I was hesitant to speak, but I was curious enough to ask.

"Not exactly." Amos smiled slightly. "I can make them feel the pain of it. It is not as painful as Jane's gift but it can incapacitate someone to an extent. I was rather curious to see if you could block me as well. May I?"

I nodded hesitantly. I knew I had to gain this man's trust, but he made me uneasy. As his attempt to gas me failed, I was extremely grateful for my own gift. I knew he was here to help, but Amos really scared me.

"Hm." He thought. "Hopefully my gift will be of more use later."

"Any help you can give will be most welcome." Carlisle thanked him, and with that, the Germans sat with the others.

As the Germans sat down, Tanya brought forth the other group. There were three females and one male. This had to be the Australian Coven.

"This is Idalia and her coven." Tanya announced as a female stepped forward. She was tall with black hair that had many small braids. She had a slightly olive skin tone, and looked like she understood the situation far too well.

"It is a pleasure." Esme greeted her.

"Thank you." Idalia replied. "This is my friend Coleen." She said as she motioned towards the female with curly brown hair.

Coleen nodded silently. She looked shy and did not speak after Carlisle returned her nod.

"This is Kenneth." Idalia continued. "He joined us on his own." The man's bright red hair reminded me of Victoria, but his warming smile was reassuring.

"That is an interesting name." Carlisle spoke up. "Born of fire if I remember correctly."

"Very good." Kenneth complimented him. "When I woke up all I remembered was the burning, so I named myself after the fire."

"I thought it had to do with your hair." I heard Renesmee comment.

I shot her a warning look, but Kenneth laughed and so did the other members of his coven.

"Most do."

"How did you cope after waking up?" Alice asked. "I had a similar experience and the only thing that kept me from going savage was my ability to see the future."

"I did for about a year until I learned to control myself. A while later I met Idalia and Coleen and joined them. Then I met my dear Adelaide."

A beautiful girl with wavy golden hair came to stand next to Kenneth. She smiled at him lovingly and took his hand.

"Well we thank you all for coming." Esme spoke up.

That was the last of the covens. I was rather shocked at how large they all were. Vampires usually did not form very large groups, but Edward had told me that, like Rose and Emmet, the couples in these covens would go off on their own as nomads for extended periods of time. Many vampires feel a certain loyalty to their creators and would meet with them. In the case of these covens, many of them were just temporarily regrouped.

As the last coven joined the circle, the chatter died down, and the room became silent apart from the pounding hearts of the Jacob and the other wolves and the humming of Renesmee's.

Carlisle stood up from where he was sitting next to Esme.

"First I would like to thank you all for coming. I am sure Tanya told you everything about the situation. We know what you are risking, but either way we are all in danger. We know The Volturi want to pick us off one by one, and by uniting we are making it harder for them to get rid of us."

"Carlisle." Vladimir spoke up. "You know I would gladly take any chance to take out the Italian scum, but you know as well as I that we do not stand one chance at coming out of this alive whether we fight or not. The Volturi have grown. We may have had a chance last time, but what is the point of uniting if we are all to die anyway?"

"Is there something you are not telling us?" Siobhan chimed in.

Carlisle paused. Siobhan had hit home. The room was full of statues.

"I am sure most of you have heard the story of the Skill Bender." Carlisle spoke calmly.

The room went dead silent.

"But it is just that Carlisle. A story." Benjamin went on after some time. "If she existed the Volturi would have found her. No vampire could have a skill that great."

"You are wrong on both accounts." Carlisle spoke up. "When I was with the Volturi, she came to them. We were forbidden to speak of her existence. The Volturi wanted her for themselves, but she refused to join them."

"Why would anyone refuse to join the Volturi?" Zafrina asked.

"You should ask her." Carlisle stated.

"You want us to look for her?" Maria laughed. "Even if she did exist, no one knows where she is."

"After I told Tanya about the situation, my family and I followed a rumor to find her."

"So what you are saying in she is here right now?" Peter tensed up as he spoke.

"You are lying!" Stefan accused.

"Maggie?" Liam looked to Maggie for confirmation of the accusation.

"He is telling the truth." Maggie practically whispered.

The whole room went silent. No one spoke or moved. All eyes were on Carlisle.

"Scarlet." Carlisle called, and the young girl rounded the corner to meet the waiting guests.

* * *

A/N

Not my best work, but its out. I could change the intro scene a million times and I would still not be happy with it. WARNING! even more vampires to come so memorize who the new ones are nob before you get lost XD

Thank you for your support guys. It feels great to know people are reading your material. Since I posted the last chapter there has not been a day where at least two people have not read the story. That's amazing to me.

So be sure to review. I love to hear comments and what direction you hope or think the story will take, what you want to see more of ect. It will help the writers block for my unfinished and unwritten chapters in the future.

~Twily


	8. Explanations

A/N

one of the passages in this chapter is an edited chapter by Stephanie Meyer that was not included in the original Twilight book. Though I did change it a little, all rights go to Meyer. She is the queen of literature and deserves the credit

* * *

**Explanations **

Mostly everyone got up. Some were tensed in front of mates while others gazed in wonder at the small girl. There were some hisses and an _oh please_ from Jake.

"Why have you brought her here?" Maria panicked. "She is dangerous!"

"Calm down Maria." Said Peter. "How do we even know it is really her?"

"Eleazar?" Carmen asked in a worried voice.

"Why can't I See your gift?" Eleazar asked calmly. "Now that I think of it I can't see any of your gifts." He began to tense up as he spoke.

"My gift is not working either." Amos panicked. He was staring intently at Scarlet, as if intending to harm her.

"Sorry." Scarlet apologized calmly. "It is just a precaution. People tend to freak out." She gazed back at Amos, but without the threatening glare.

"Everyone please sit down." Carlisle spoke calmly.

One by one, everyone sat down until Amos finally gave in. No one let their guard down even for a moment. All eyes were on Scarlet as she told her story.

As she spoke everyone was silent. As the story progressed you could see the same flash of emotion on their faces that had been on ours earlier. Worry, relief, sadness, furry, amazement, and wonder flashed from face to face. The tension melted away and was replaced with curiosity. She either had a way of making everyone relaxed around her, or she was taking advantage of having Jasper in the room. It was hard to look at this small girl and feel she was dangerous, though I knew she could be.

When the story finally came to an end with her arrival yesterday, everyone seemed calm. At least, calmer than they had a minute ago.

You could see the questions were coming. Coleen broke the scilence.

"I don't understand one thing." She started. "If you have the power to defeat the Volturi by yourself then why bring us into this?" The question was not accusing, but merely curious.

"The stories are quite exaggerated, I will admit. If I were to fact the Volturi alone I may have the chance to take out more of them than most people, but chances are I would still die in the process. I can get distracted if I am dealing with too many things at once. Besides, the Volturi have doubled their guard, and that would leave too much of a chance for someone to get hurt. There is power in numbers."

"Can't you defend yourself while using your power?" Maria chimed in.

"Yes." Scarlet answered simply. "I am actually very good at self defense and fighting because of my strength, but it is harder when I am using too many skills."

When Scarlet mentioned fighting, a light snicker escaped from Emmett. He tried to hide it and look like he was listening, but it was a failed attempt.

"I wouldn't Emmett." Edward warned.

Scarlet whipped her head around to look at Emmett.

"No." She said smugly. "I accept the challenge. I have been wondering that myself. I should warn you though that there is more to it than strength."

I did not have to be told what they were talking about to know right away what was going on.

Emmett smiled wryly.

"Meet you out back." He grinned, his white, menacing teeth glinting in the light.

The tense atmosphere seemed to have been lifted from the room as the guests laughed, and headed outside for the event. By the time I got outside, Emmett was out back already warming up. Jasper was wrestling with him on the ground.

"Ok." Jasper laughed. "I'm done."

Emmett laughed and stood up, letting Jasper free from where he was pinned on the ground.

"Emmett," Esme started begging again. "please don't fight the poor girl. She is so small."

"No way!" Emmett laughed. "I have been waiting for a fair fight for a long time."

"Why do you like fighting so much anyway?" I asked. This had always bugged me. My big brother was always all too eager to fight, or accept a challenge, even if it was a threat to his life. I thought back to his eager grin when the newborn army was coming to kill me, or his optimistic attitude that was still present when the Volturi were threatening to destroy our family the last time. Even this time, before we knew of Scarlet, he had not seemed as worried as I thought he should be.

"You heard my story, didn't you?" Emmett paused to ask me.

I thought back into my murky past and realized I had not. Even after all these years. Edward's story telling left much to be desired when it came to the details in his families' personal histories. I had heard everyone's stories up to a point from him, but to get the full story I had gone to that person. It occurred to me that Emmett had never personally told me his story. Edward had told me that a bear had attacked him and Rose took him to Carlisle but that was all I really knew about my brawny brother.

"Edward told me you got mauled by a bear." I replied.

"Well then," Emmett began."It is time for you to hear the full story."

Renesmee sat on the ground to listen, so I joined her. Jasper moaned and sat down to listen too. He had probably heard the story many times before. Edward rolled his eyes, but sat down quietly next to me. Carlisle stood politely next to Emmett, and Esme went to sit on the porch with Rose, and Alice.

Emmett smiled and started his tale dramatically. "A looooooong timed ago, in a far off land lived a handsome young man named Emmett McCarty, who…"

"Just tell the story Emmett." Jasper complained.

"Fine then." Emmett laughed as he continued.

"I lived in a small town in Tennessee around the mid 1930's. It was not a very exciting life so I started hanging out with a crowd who liked to drink, gamble, and the like. Still, I never let my family go hungry. I would hunt regularly, and I would like to say I was very good at it.

"Well, one day when I was 20, I was on a routine hunting trip in the Smokey Mountains. I was following the trail of a Black Bear. Needless to say, I found it, and it was not happy about that. He attacked me.

"He was finished playing with me then, and I knew I was about to die. I couldn't move, and my conciseness was slipping away, when I heard what I thought was another bear, and a fight-over which would get my carcass I supposed. Suddenly, I was flying. I figured I'd died, but I tried to open my eyes anyway. And then I saw _her_," he said as he looked at Rosalie who was sitting with Alice and Esme on the porch. "and I _knew_ I was dead. I didn't even mind the pain. I fought to keep my eyelids open-I didn't want to miss even one second of the angle's face. I was delirious, of course, wondering why we hadn't gotten to heaven yet, thinking it must be farther than I'd expected. And then she brought me to God." Emmett laughed his deep, booming laugh, and Carlisle smiled at him and patted his shoulder with a more subtle laugh.

"I thought what happened next was my judgment. I'd had a little too much fun in my twenty human years, so I wasn't surprised by the fires of hell." He laughed a much quieter laugh then I was used to, and I winced at the memory; Edward's arm tightened around me unconsciously. "What surprised me was that the angel didn't leave. I couldn't understand how something so beautiful could be allowed to stay in hell with me-but I was _grateful_. Every time God came to check on me, I was afraid he would take her away, but he never did. I started to think maybe those preachers who talked about a merciful God might have been right after all. And then the pain went away….and they explained things to me.

"_They_ were surprised how little disturbed I was over the vampire issue. But if Carlisle and Rosalie, my angel, were vampires, how bad could it be?" I nodded, agreeing completely, as he continued. "I had a bit more trouble with the rules…." He chuckled. "You had your hands full with me at first, didn't you?" Emmett's playful nudge with his foot at Edward set us both rocking.

Edward shoved his foot away.

"So you see, Hell is not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you. I am very grateful to her for that. I just want to prove to myself that I can protect her from anyone or anything."

"Well, I think you are still just mad that you lost that first fight to that bear." Edward laughed.

Emmett growled and mumbled something like _I'd like to see you beat me now._

Edward lunged at Emmett and sent him sprawling onto the ground.

"Edward!" I scolded.

"Don't worry about it lil' sister." Emmett was unruffled. "I got this."

They wrestled on the ground for only a couple seconds before Esme's reproving voice called sharply from the porch.

"Boys!"

Emmett and Edward were up in a second.

"Sorry mom." They said together.

Renesmee started giggling and The rest of us joined in.

"So when will the fight start?" Benjamin asked as he walked over. The others had started to gather in the yard too.

"It will start right now." Scarlet called to Emmett as she started walking over.

I ran towards her as fast as I could. Maybe I could talk her out of the fight. After hearing about Emmett's obsessive fighting disorder I was honestly scared for the girl.

"Are you sure you want to fight Emmett?" I asked. I really was hoping she would change her mind. It was worse than picturing Alice fighting some newborn vampire.

"Oh please." Scarlet did not sound worried at all. "If Jasper can beat him then so can I. Have some faith Bella. Emmett may be bigger and he is still much stronger, but I have as much or more combat experience than Jasper."

It was hard to imagine this small girl fighting off anyone, until she slid the sleeve of her T-Shirt down just enough to reveal two scars on her left shoulder. They matched Jaspers many scars, and the crescent scar that was still on my wrist from when James bit me.

"Many people came to take my power. The Volturi are not the only ones who want skilled vampires."

I started to protest, but she put her hand up to silence me.

Emmett may have strength, but I have experience."

"You ready little sister?" Emmett called from the other side of the lawn.

"Do you mind if I beat him up Rose?" Scarlet asked with more innocence than I thought possible.

"Be my guest." Rose joked. I guess she really did like Scarlet.

"Be careful Emmett." Esme scolded.

"Yeah, We don't want you getting hurt." Jacob laughed. Everyone joined in, and Renesmee jabbed Jake in the side with her elbow.

Emmett rolled his eyes and stepped forward. He motioned with his index finger for Scarlet to step up too.

"Seriously man, if you hurt her I will personally snap your neck." Seth told Emmett from across the yard.

Scarlet smiled at Seth, and stepped up to Emmett. She reached her hand out to Emmett, as if to shake hands. Emmett, confidently took her hand and was about to shake when Scarlet grabbed his arm with her other hand, swung him over her head, and threw him to the ground.

Jasper, who was usually very calm, was laughing so hard that if he could he would be crying. Everyone joined in, including Esme and Rose. Jake was on the ground laughing with Seth and Renesmee's tinkling laugh could be heard from the other side of the yard.

"That was no fair." Emmett yelled in embarrassment as he sat up. " I wasn't ready."

"Well then, let's go again." Scarlet smirked.

Emmett jumped up and stood, looking down at the girl who had just thrown him to the ground. He narrowed his eyes as Scarlet approached him.

Scarlet swung her right fist at Emmett just in time for him to grab it. She gave him a quick smirk, and proceeded to kick his legs out from under him with her left leg. As he was falling, Scarlet grabbed his neck and shoved him to the ground with so much force that when Emmett landed, it created a crater in the dirt.

"Best 2 out of 3?" Scarlet asked with a grin.

"You're on!" Emmett answered as he jumped up, more enthusiastic than ever.

As they fought, Seth got more relaxed. Scarlet won almost every match.

By the time Emmett had decided that he had had enough humiliation for one day, and after getting Scarlet to promise to give him some tips for his technique, most of our guests had wandered away to different parts of the house, and Renesmee was almost asleep in Jacob's arms.

"I will carry her back home" Edward told him as he took Renesmee gently in his arms.

As we started home, I looked back to see Seth saying goodbye to Scarlet for the day. The scene looked so familiar. This is what it must have been like looking at Edward and me from the outside.

"It is very strange looking at them. It is not like any of the other wolves and their mates. It is….different." Edward said. "Jacob likes your theory. He thinks it explains everything. But, he thinks there is something more. Like they are soul mates or Seth is a genetic dead end, and the fact that they are odd just allows the imprint to take place. It is just a theory."

"Well, I think it is a very good one under the circumstances."

" I just hope she doesn't mind the smell." Edward joked.

I smiled at him and took his hand in mine. I looked into his face and saw how calm he was. He had been so worried last time the Volturi came. I sighed.

"What?"

"Aren't you worried about the Volturi at all? Last time everyone freaked out, and this time everyone is fine."

Edward did not take long to ponder the question before answering.

"With Scarlet on our side we have the advantage. She can use her skill on multiple people. There is no point in worrying."

"But, how many people? She said that if she uses the skill on too many people she gets tired, and if she is distracted she loses focus."

Edward thought about this for a while. He still did not have an answer when we got home.

He laid Renesmee in her bed and tucked the sheets around her. We kissed her goodnight as always, and left the room quietly.

After he had closed the door, Edward turned to me. He lifted his hand and brushed it gently across my cheek. We stood there for some time, just looking into each other's eyes. When he finally answered my question it was in a whisper.

"We just have to have hope, love." He said simply.

"I can't trust hoping to keep us alive."

"Hope is all we really have right now, and that hope is centered around Scarlet. You saw how calm Nessie has been since she got here. Even her nightmares have stopped."

I could not argue with that. Any person that could alter dreams with her presence was someone you should be able to trust, but I just could not do it.

Edward saw the conflict on my face and smiled as he took my head gently in his hands. He kissed me lightly.

"Let's just concentrate on what we have right now." he suggested in a whisper.

I nodded silently in agreement, and with that we walked slowly back to our room for the night.

* * *

A/N

Wowza guys. I have to thank you. There was only one day last month where this story did not get any views, and after that i am almost positive it never got less than 2. You guys rule.

I would have liked to have gotten this chapter out sooner, but i had some complications with my laptop and some stuff got erased and i had to go through and edit it piece by piece. Thanks for sticking with me.

Please review. Rate from 1-10 on Twilight accuracy or tell me what you think comes next or what you like or ideas bla bla bla. I just love hearing from u guys XD.

~Twily


	9. News

**News**

We made it through several nights without any nightmares on Renesmee's part. She would open her eyes as we walked in the room to wake her, and never before. We got dressed and went to the house to discuss with the others the proper approach for the upcoming battle. There really was no avoiding a fight. This had become our daily routine.

It had been about a week, and I was not completely satisfied with the other night's conversation. I still had my doubts, but I did not want to discuss it around Renesmee no matter how much she knew. It was like a dark cloud of stress was constantly hovering over me. A numbness at the back of every thought that made me stomach curl in anxiety. I tried to keep it hidden, but Edward saw the constant worry written plainly on my face. He would take my hand and smile at me comfortingly, in a way that would melt all my troubles away. He knew what I was thinking without reading my mind.

When we approached the house one morning we heard a mass of voices speaking at once.

"What's going on?" I asked anxiously.

"Mary and Randall came." Edward said coldly. "And they brought news." He quickened his pace towards the house.

We leaped the river with Renesmee close behind and were in the house in a matter of seconds. Standing in the center of the room full of vampires were Mary and Randall. The two vampires had always been mysterious to me, always in the background, rarely speaking, never taking part, but that does not mean they did not stand out.

Mary's wild, curly brown hair was enough to catch your attention on its own, but the way it framed her light olive toned face just seemed to draw you in. She had a hidden fierceness in her red eyes, and they constantly scanned the room. She was truly a nomadic vampire, never returning to the same place unless needed, and the kind of person who comes of her own volition. At least that's what Edward had told me. She definitely gave off an air of independence.

Randall was a bit more understated. His dark blonde hair and pale skin wouldn't turn any heads in this company. He had a composed stance and seemed very calm. Carlisle had told me that he was one of the first vampires Randall had met after he was turned. He considered Carlisle a good friend, and had been very loyal to him.

Standing with them were two vampires I remembered from the field. Charles and Makenna. Witnesses for the Volturi. Of course they would be in danger too since Charles's ability-much like Maggie's- had allowed them to see through the Volturi's lies. Their mistake was admitting it, and now they were paying for it.

Charles stood there quietly. He had dark blonde hair like Randall, and his dark eyes were frantic. He stood close to Makenna, who was hiding behind a veil of black hair. When she looked up I saw a flash of confliction cross her face.

"Edward. Bella." Carlisle called "We were just going to get you. Mary and Randall found Charles and Makenna and they have some important information concerning the Volturi."

This immediately caught my full attention. I went to stand with Nessie who had drifted over towards Jacob.

Charles seemed to take a deep breath before starting. "A few days ago we ran into some nomads . We recognized them from the group of witnesses the Volturi had gathered at our last meeting. They were on the run. They had heard that the Volturi were hunting down the witnesses to kill them. There were rumored to be about fifty of them in the guard alone. They wanted to warn the others so they could run. We told them we would warn you, but they said you knew and had gained the help of the skill bender." He looked over at Scarlet who was standing with Seth at Carlisle's far right. "They said they would find others and gather here."

"The world is finally realizing the Volturi's true intent." Garret declared rather smugly.

"How many nomads do you think will make it?" Esme asked quietly, the worry seeping into her voice.

"I expect only two or three will actually make it." Makenna said softly. "There are so many in the guard. They are all trained. Even the younger ones."

"It is said they took out at least thirty of the total original witnesses." Randall chimed in quietly.

"Not even counting the others who must have been told." Mary added.

My mind flashed back to that day in the field. A perfect recall of the faces of the forty plus unknown vampires. The disorganized horde of witnesses, some even hoping for more than the chance to witness.

My eyes pricked as I realized we would be lucky if eight of those witnesses got here in time. My silent heart ached for those unfortunate people whose lives had been lost because of our family.

"At least we have Scarlet now." Emmett smiled. "She can singlehandedly whoop the Volturi for all of us!" He grinned, smugness radiating from his entire body.

Scarlet took a step forward, hands out and palms forward in caution.

"I would not go that far Emmet." She said quietly, doubt seeping into her voice. "I do not know how far my powers can go with such large numbers, let alone any distractions there may be. Even if I only take away their powers it could be too much. Be cautious."

"Can't we use our powers too?" I questioned.

"You could try, but I could slip up. I could end up taking away your power by accident, even if I tried to …differentiate. It's hard to explain. Remember my juggling analogy? "

I nodded, trying to comprehend what she was telling me.

"Imagine juggling in a room full of balls. When you use your skills the balls bounce. It is hard to keep track of the ones you need and the others get in the way." She trailed off as she thought.

When she put it that way it made sense.

"What else can we do?" Carlisle asked.

"Is this everyone you can gather?" Scarlet inquired.

"Everyone I know of."

"What about the others?"

"I could call in some of my older newborns." Maria chimed in. "I have some to spare."

"Can they control themselves?" Jasper asked hesitantly.

"As long as they are not around humans. They are about a year old so they should be able to handle the dogs and the half-breed." She nodded in Jake and Nessie's direction. Were we really this desperate that we would risk the others by bringing in newborns?

Edward felt me tense up next to him. He rubbed my shoulder comfortingly, though I could tell he was as nervous as me.

"How many?" Scarlet spoke up.

"How does eight sound?"

"Better than zero."

"I'll call Sean." Maria said and she ran to the phone.

I looked around and saw that the others were just as thrilled as I was to have newborns around, no matter how controlled they were. I don't think they were thrilled to have the southerners involved at all.

Carlisle turned back to Makenna.

"I would like to thank you for coming. I know what a sacrifice this is for you." His face was full of remorse.

Makenna looked up and smiled at him slightly.

"They are making a bad decision. I had to do what was right."

I was very confused by the conversation and was going to ask Edward about it, but I could hear Maria murmuring quietly into the small cell phone in her hand, and it distracted me from the odd exchange. I tried to listen in but I could only make out some of the words over the louder grumbles of protest in the room. She was discussing which newborns to bring up.

"Carlisle," Siobhan whispered at his side "Are you sure this is the best idea?"

"Scarlet knows more than we do. We have to trust her. Still, I recommend we all keep our distance and don't get to familiar with them."

I felt a pang of guilt as I realized what he was saying. Don't get familiar with them because they will not make it. One of the key traits of newborns was "Disposable".

"They will be here by tomorrow." Maria claimed.

"Good." Scarlet spoke up. "We will all need training. I will work with Jasper first so he can train the newborns when they arrive. I will work with the rest of you later."

Jasper followed Scarlet out of the house and several others followed to observe. Jake and Sam who had been hovering in the corner kept their distance, but followed the procession.

"Do you think they will know?" I asked Edward.

"Who?"

"The newborns. Do you think they know they will die?"

Edward hesitated. "I can't be sure, but I suppose they would have some suspicions if they are going all the way up north."

"Then why would Carlisle…" I started.

"He hopes that Scarlet's power will come through." He spoke before I finished. "At the very least he hopes they will get enough training to be a distraction without getting hurt."

I fervently hoped for the same thing. I did not want to have more people killed for us. None of them had chosen this life, and even now their fates were being decided by their creator.

I could feel my teeth against my lower lip. I was used to the odd way it felt now, my teeth oddly too sharp even for my cool marble lips. Edward squeezed my hand that was now in his.

"Mom?" I heard Renesmee call from nearby.

I hurriedly rearranged my face so she would not see the guilt that had been plainly written on my face a second before.

"Hmm."

"Do you think they will make it? The witnesses I mean."

Edward squeezed my hand lightly, and I took a shallow breath.

"I hope so Ness." I said carefully, watching her face closely.

A single tear escaped her eye before she walked into my open arms. She sobbed quietly.

"Oh honey, it's not your fault." I said softly as I kissed her hair.

"Don't cry angel." Edward said as he wrapped his arms around both of us.

We stood there unmoving, Edward and I listening to the heartbeat of our daughter, her broken sobs quieting, and her breath settling.

"Why don't you go with Jacob." I suggested. I hated losing even a second of the time I has left with my daughter, but I knew she needed Jake right now. He always comforted her.

She nodded, and gave me a kiss before giving Edward one last hug, then she ran out to Jake in the yard. As I watched, I sighed and leaned against Edward who had put his arm around me.

"What do you say to a hunting trip?" I asked as I looked into his ocher eyes. It had been a while since our last venture, and I was feeling the ache more than usual.

Edward smiled and took my hand before we started on our way to the river. Our run quickly turned into a race, and I let myself loose. I knew he was much faster than I was, so I jumped into a tree, planning as I swung from branch to branch. As soon as he let his guard down I struck. I jumped out of the tree, landing on Edward's back and forcing him to the ground. I laughed as he lay there stunned momentarily, but he quickly caught up.

We slowed to a fast human pace, enjoying the morning. The trees were filtering the sun that had decided to show its face, and there was still a slight mist hovering just above the ground.

We were silent for the most part until I remembered the question I had wanted to ask Edward earlier.

"Edward?" I started. "What was Carlisle saying to Makenna, about her coming being a sacrifice?"

Edward was quiet for a minute. He looked like he was thinking about how to word something.

"Makenna has an… interesting family history." He said carefully. "They all know about the existence of vampires, and one of their ancestors is one. He changes one of the family members every now and then."

"What about the Volturi?" I said, shocked. "Wouldn't they get mad?"

"Well," Edward began again. "you remember Renata, Aro's bodyguard?"

I nodded. I felt kind of bad thinking about her. She was not a fighter. She was actually rather timid. She would have to die anyway so we could get to Aro, and I was the only one who could kill her.

"She was the one who invited Charles and Makenna to witness for the Volturi."

"So they know each other?"

"Yes, but its more than that."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, Renata did not change Makenna, but they were both changed by the same ancestor."

I stopped, a wave of guilt washing over me.

"They are related." It was not a question.

"Yes."

"She is turning on her own family."

Edward nodded silently.

"But they were witnesses. The Volturi would have killed them anyway right?" I was looking for an excuse to rid me of some of the guilt.

"They don't know that for sure. Renata is very high up in the guard. They may have made an exception if she had asked."

I groaned, as I realized what all of this meant. Makenna was not only risking herself and her mate, but also her entire human family that knew about the secret world of vampires. Would it never end?

"She knows it is the right thing to do." Edward attempted to comfort me. "With Charles around they can tell when people are lying, and she knows the Volturi are willing to kill for power. She thinks it is wrong, and wants to do the right thing."

I looked into Edward's dark eyes and my anxieties melted away, along with the rest of my thoughts. He brushed his hand across my cheek before pulling me in for a quick kiss.

"Let's hunt before they start to miss us." Edward smiled, and I noticed the sun was already directly overhead.

I quickly caught the scent of a nearby cougar, my favorite. It was behind a bush, looking at a heard of deer in the clearing ahead. I looked at Edward. He was already in hunter mode. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Crouching slowly into attack mode I leaned forward. The cougar prepared to pounce, but I beat it. I leaped into the air, grabbing the cougar as we came into contact. I could hear the heard of deer scatter as Edward pounced on the heard, taking down the largest buck.

I had perfected my kill, and as I dropped my empty carcass I looked down at my clean shirt. I was proud of myself. It had taken a while for me to learn how to hunt without getting blood all over the place. I felt Edward's arm curl around my waist as he pulled me into his side. I looked up at him and smiled.

"So what do you say to killing some time at our meadow?" Edward whispered in my ear.

It had been weeks since we had been there. I smiled, knowing how beautiful the flowers would be and how green and soft the grass was this time of year.

I nodded enthusiastically, and Edward smiled back at me. With a quick but passionate kiss he grabbed my hand and he led the way to our special spot.

It did not take long to get there. The light from the clearing was visible even a hundred meters away. I ran faster, eager to break through the trees. The second I saw the meadow I stopped to take it all in.

The grass was a beautiful emerald green that even the lush fields of Ireland would envy. The flowers were in bloom, covering the field with patches of purple, yellow, white, and even some pink here and there. Memories flooded my mind. Renesmee when she was young, picking flowers to give to Edward and me, grabbing some on the way home to share with Jacob and the others. Last summer, when Edward and I just lay in the sun, hand in hand, feeling the warmth and watching the other shine in the brilliant sun. The foggy human memories of that first day in our secret meadow.

I released my shield to share the memories with Edward as they flowed into my mind. His eyes lit up as he took it all in, taking my hand in his again and leading me into the sun. The moment it touched his skin I immediately lost control of my shield, and my train of thought.

His beauty still left me speechless even after all this time. Even more now than when I was a human. I could see every individual ray of light that glimmered off his skin. I sighed in pleasure as the back of his glistening hand brushed softly down my cheek.

"So beautiful…" He whispered quietly as he leaned in to kiss me.

His lips were nearly to mine when we were interrupted by a silvery bell-like voice coming from the woods.

"Hold up you two. Don't start anything while I'm here."

Alice entered the clearing from the opposite side of the meadow, her eyes apologetic as she started towards us.

"What do you want Alice?" I said, slightly annoyed at my pixie sister for interrupting.

"Sorry." She apologized. "Scarlet asked me to find you Bella. She wants to talk to you."

My tone changed from annoyed to curious. "About what?"

"Why don't you go find out." Alice said as she rolled her eyes jokingly.

I looked at Edward, searching for answers, but he just shrugged and took my hand. I sighed. I had been looking forward to a quiet afternoon with Edward.

"It sounded important." Alice hinted as she saw me debating whether to go or not.

"Alright." I moaned. "Let's go."

"Race ya!" Alice said as she went sprinting into the forest. I looked at Edward who grinned at me, and we rushed off after her.

Alice laughed as Edward tried to outmaneuver her. He may have been the fastest, but Alice had her ways. She jumped over the river and landed a full second before him, both of them leaving me in the dust.

"Bella." Scarlet called. "I'm glad Alice found you. I want to talk to you privately."

I looked to Edward for answers like I always did when I was confused, and I was surprised to see he looked just as lost. Either Scarlet was blocking him or she was thinking something he really did not grasp.

I nodded silently and let Scarlet lead the way into the woods. We were several miles away when she turned around to finally talk to me.

"I had an idea while I was helping Jasper, and I think it will be our best chance of getting out of this alive."

"What is it?" I asked eagerly. "What can I do to help?"

"I was thinking that I might be able to strengthen your shield. My main goal it to see if I can make it a physical shield too."

"Yes!" I practically yelled. "Let's do it now! What do you need me to do?"

"Shhhh." Scarlet said quickly. "I don't want the others to know yet."

"Why all the secrecy?" I asked. It didn't make any sense.

Scarlet sighed and slumped to the ground. "They trust me too much. I have never used my powers like this before. I don't really know what I'm doing. You're the only one who is second guessing me. Don't worry, I don't take any offense to it. I understand why you don't trust me, but what I don't understand is why you don't trust yourself?"

This took me off guard. It was true. I did not trust myself to be able to protect my family. I could protect them from their minds' deception, but I lacked the ability to hold them in my arms and promise them they would be ok, and Scarlet seemed to fulfill that promise.

"Bella, you have to understand that my power is worthless. Without anyone else I am a normal vampire, but you. Bella, because of you your family, and many others are still alive. You are the protector. That's why I am so drawn to you. You scream safety, and that's the thing I long for the most."

It was kind of odd to hear of myself as safe. I still considered myself a bit of a danger magnet. But her words rang with undeniable truth.

Scarlet smiled up at me, and I could not help but smile back. I felt uplifted. A sense of hope and longing I had not had since the beginning of this long endeavor.

"So when do we start?" I finally asked.

"Not today." Scarlet shook her head. "We will wait till tomorrow when everyone is busy training the newborns. I think the best chance we have of strengthening your shield is by doing a power merge. If everyone is occupied we can see which powers are compatible without them knowing."

"Sounds like a plan." I said cheerfully.

I turned to go back to the house when Scarlet grabbed my hand. I whirled around to face her.

"Don't tell anyone." She whispered one last time.

"Got it." I nodded, and I ran off to join Edward with a new sense of hope in my mind.

* * *

A/N

Wow there is so much i wana say.

KK lets start with OMG we made it through the entire month with at least a view every day! You guys rock! I do think that has partially to do with ym awesome froends CockapooGirl100 on YouTube and DiehardTwihards on twitter. SOHUTOUT!

Next. I am officially out of pre-written chapters. This one was only half written, and you saw how slow that was. My goal is to stay 100% true to stephanie meyer's story when it comes to character backgrounds and interactions ect. and that takes research which takes time which i dont have a lot of sometimes sooooooooo it may take longer than a month per chapter. I do have some outlined though which may help.

ALSO there will be an onslaught of characters so i suggest you familiarize yourselves with the ones we have. I am trying to set something up where you can see pics and descriptions of the new characters, because I know I personally love that kind of stuff. Keep an eye out on my profile page thing bc i refuse to post updates as chapters. This is like a book to me and i hate it when people post notes as chapters. gets my hopes up just to be crushed when i read them.

Anyway please review to give me the ideas i desperately need or just to say hey.

~Twily

Update- I made the sight to help you keep up with the characters

check it out!


	10. Temporary Update

hey guys. so i know i said i would never do this but i guess i can delete it later.

So I am having a major case of writers block. It has been over a month since last update and i will tell you now that I only have like 2 pages done. I know what i want to happen, but I am having trouble getting there. I feel like I am rushing events and I don't want to. I want everything to flow perfectly. I am looking for fillers and I cant think of anything. So in terms of the guests you have seen already what would you like in terms of interactions. Between the new covens and the ones belonging to meyer who should be friends, couples, ect? Are there any special Edward Bella, Jake Nessie, or Seth and Scarlet moments you want to see or any moments among other couples?

Your replies mean the world to me in terms of my writers block, and so far i have not gotten many. It would really help me get this chapter and the story itself done. I have no intention of ending the story until I have reached the ending I have planed.

BTW, for updates on the falling star websight look in the reviews. Thats where I will post updates. The websight when fully up and running will be where you can see the newest characters and what I am up to in terms of writing.


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